Batgirl Beyond Act Two
by Evilness321
Summary: Juggling a double life is difficult for Caitlyn, but keeping friendships is even harder as she assumes her new role as Batgirl. She has to find a way of keeping her friendships intact while living as the new Batgirl and fighting crime in Gotham City.
1. Prologue

**Act Two- **

**Prologue: ****Come What May **

"A shocking twist today in the investigations in to the deaths of Claire and Jonathan Boardener. Just before midnight last night, an arrest was made that turned the tables in favor of the Police Commissioner and her family." The news caster's voice said on the television screen early the next morning, as Caitlyn was taking her morning bath, soaking in lavender and vanilla scented bubbles after the long night the previous day.

She didn't realize she would feel so tired after her first completed mission, with two failed attempts in the get-go. But at least Nathan was behind bars now at Arkham Asylum, apparently in a separate part of the building than his father.

School had been canceled for the next week while the Police Department conducted their investigations on Nathan's arrest, and while the power company worked on restoring the School's electricity since it turned out that the cord Batman used to render Knave unconscious had been the source of the school's power. So the next morning she was to be seen soaking in her bathtub and trying to clear her mind with the aid of the scents of lavender and vanilla swirling around her. She could hardly believe that she was Batgirl, even now a week after she'd taken the suit from her grandmother.

She still missed her parents, but she felt that that pain might never fully go away. At least she still had her friend, Leia, and the remaining members of the Cheer leading Squad. Speaking of Leia... her phone beeped from its designated spot on the floor next to the bath tub, and she picked it up to see that Leia had just sent her a text message asking what time they should meet to go see her Grandma Rosie today.

Caitlyn shot off a quick reply saying after lunch, and set the phone back down. Before sighing, and stepping out of the tub. She dried herself as the bathtub drained, and dressed in a silk-soft purple long sleeved shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and decided to put her hair back in a purple headband that day. By the time she had grabbed her phone, and was done getting ready for the day, it was already past ten in the morning.

"Morning slow poke." Said Dick from his spot in the living room when he heard his granddaughter moving around more.

"Hey Grandpa. Nana ever get home last night?" Asked Caitlyn as she looked in the freezer for something to eat for breakfast.

"Yeah, but only enough to get six hours sleep and then head out early for work again." Sighed Dick. It was well known that he disliked his wife's sense of not stopping till the job was finished. "Are you still planning on visiting your friends' grandmother today?" He asked.

"Yep. We're going after lunch." Nodded Caitlyn as she pulled out a ham and mozzarella cheese breakfast hot pocket from the freezer.

After breakfast, she went back to her room to finish an essay for United States History that she had actually procrastinated on. The essay had been due today, but with school canceled due to electrical problems, she had plenty of time to make good headway on it. One of her bad habits was procrastinating on homework, and when she came back to the kitchen for a soda pop and some fresh baby carrots and garden snap peas to snack on, she went back to work on her essay while she had the television playing in the background.

When she got tired of television in the background, she decided to put on her favorite aquamarine haired and pigtailed Japanese voice synthesizer. She had a whole playlist with her songs on her iPod, put on her headphones, and started tapping her foot to the beats that played while she worked on her essay.

Finally after nearly two hours she was free, her snacks had been consumed as she wrote her essay or read articles in her history textbook. Every now and again, she found herself looking up and around, thinking how her father had come in to her room at least once every hour on days when she had loads of homework, to offer friendly words of encouragement, or some help on her math problems that she struggled with. Before she got herself depressed, she would shake her head and get back to work on her essay which was proving to be a doozy.

She stood up after taking off her headphones, stretching and yawning, she felt her joints popping in protest at being moved when she heard her cellphone- now off to the side on her desk where her books were piled- ringing.

"Leia! Hi!" She said.

"Hey! You didn't forget, did you?" Leia's cheerfully upbeat voice came on the phone.

"Oh no. Just spent two hours racking my brains on that history essay our hateful teacher gave us on Friday is all." Sighed Caitlyn as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"I heard that there was a fight yesterday between Batgirl, Batman and the Dee family!" Leia said in a rather exited tone. "At least you weren't involved this time! Thanks for letting me know you got home before anything crazy happened."

"Uh...Yeah." Caitlyn said in a falsely chipper voice, having tensed when Leia brought up the news reports going around. What Leia didn't know, wouldn't hurt her, and she certainly did not need to know that she was Batgirl, and had been in the thick of all that fighting. "So I'll be having lunch, and then we're meeting at that flower shop right?" She changed the subject rather quickly to avoid awkward questions.

"Yep. See you in about forty five minutes or so!" And Leia hung up.

Catilyn sighed in relief, having avoided being put on the spot again as her stomach grumbled rather rudely. Sometimes she cursed having a large appetite. At least she was able to work off her food with her hobbies, and her career as Batgirl.

When she finished her lunch, she grabbed her jacket, cell phone, and tote bag- at the insistence of her grandfather since she always put her Batsuit in it.

"You should never go anywhere without it, Caitlyn. If something were to happen or someone were to attack, you never know if you are going to need the suit." He lectured her.

"Ok, ok! I've got the suit in my bag! Don't need to got on your soap box about it... yeesh..." Caitlyn pecked her grandfather on the cheek before heading out the door to meet her friend.

Leia was waiting on the corner of the street with her purse, waving impatiently at her friend to hurry up.

At the flower shop, the girls were poring over the roses, since that was Leia's grandmother's favorite flower.

"What's your grandma's favorite color again?" Asked Caitlyn as the florist was helping them figure out what would be best for a hospital room bouquet.

"She loves the dark colored roses, but she also loves the double blooms... OH!" Leia exclaimed, how about these guys!" She pointed at the double bloom deep violet roses in a rather large crystal vase.

"That'll be too heavy though... how are we gonna be able to carry it all the way there?" Asked Caitlyn, staring at the size of the vase itself.

"I'll get a chumpette to help me." Grinned Leia, rather evilly as she pulled out her cash card from her purse.

Caitlyn stared with a sense of foreboding after Leia as she paid the cashier and the florist prepared the vase for transport.

"And the vase has a wonderful feature as well," The Florist was explaining to Leia. "It changes its color and pattern randomly, with over a hundred designs and patterns."

"Sweet! Grandma will love this!" Leia said as she handed the vase to Caitlyn, who was wondering if this was some kind of cosmic payback for all the times they'd had to be split up while hanging out, or she had to bail because of her duties as Batgirl- not that Leia knew she was Batgirl.

Next thing Caitlyn knew, she was set with the task of hauling the twenty pound crystal vase filled with double bloom, deep colored roses to the hospital room that Leia's grandmother resided in.

She sighed in annoyance as Leia led the way to the hospital rather cheerfully, taking great pleasure in bossing her best friend around. The hospital was a tall apparently all glass window building that towered over Gotham, which guaranteed that the patients inside had magnificent views on all sides of the building. After signing in at the welcome desk and making sure her grandmother was still in the same room, Leia- and a rather grumpy Caitlyn- went to the elevators to the right of the desk and took them to the fourteenth level.

Caitlyn loathed elevators, particularly the elevators at the hospital because of the speed which they moved upwards and down. During the five second journey, the vase had changed from a transparent crystal color to a pastel pink, and a pastel violet shade.

"Oh! Almost forgot... Gotta grab Grandma her soda and candies!" Leia exclaimed when the elevator stopped on their level and opened up.

Luckily there was a soda machine with a candy machine right nearby her grandmother's room.

She picked out a diet Pepsi for her grandmother, herself and Caitlyn, and a Three Musketeers bar for her grandmother who always expected the Pepsi and candy bar when Leia and Caitlyn visited.

Leia's Grandmother was in a single bed room, so there were no curtains to go around.

"Grandma?" Leia said quietly as she opened the door.

"Is that my little girl and her friend?" Asked the elderly woman in the bed next to the window.

"We brought you a little something Grandma Rosie." Smiled Leia, showing the vase to her Grandmother as Caitlyn struggled to hold it up for her to see.

"They're lovely!" Said the tweedy woman with a bright smile.

Grandma Rosie was a tall, thin woman wearing a purple blouse and slacks as she sat up in the bed to better see what it was that her granddaughter and Caitlyn had brought her. She had pale skin like Leia, and shoulder length blond hair that had gray streaks which emphasized her age. A book was laying open on her chest, and it looked as though the elderly woman had fallen asleep reading.

"You got my Pepsi and Candy bar?" Asked Rosie from her bed as she put her bookmark in her novel- which Caitlyn noticed was another romance novel, and nearly gagged at the sight of the cover that faced her.

"Yes, lovely book, isn't it?" Rosie misread Caitlyn's reaction as the girl went to set down the vase on the table next to Rosie's bed. She even had a purple fleece blanket that Leia, Caitlyn and Melody had put together for her before she came to the hospital.

One thing Caitlyn had never been able to quite get over was Rosie's liking for romance novels for adults.

"I've heard that there's been quite a bit going on in Gotham City this last week." Rosie inquired with a look that quite plainly said this wasn't a request but a demand to know the truth.

"Well, you could say the week ended with a bang..." Leia said as she helped her grandmother take a drink of her soda before opening her own.

It wasn't the most entertaining of visits with Leia's grandmother, who listened raptly to all the details of how the Dees turned out to be about as mad as their parents, how Caitlyn's own parents had really passed- since Rosie was close friends with Claire and Jonathan- and the gate crashing of the Night Club party.

"At least you'll have plenty of stories to tell the kids in the future." Smiled Rosie at the end of the tale. "I mean... how many people can complain when they've been saved by none other than Batman himself?"

"I can..." Coughed Caitlyn in to her own soda, earning a sideways glance from Leia.

Rosie smiled serenely at the friends.

"Now... what's this I hear about my granddaughter not going to the Spring Fling coming up?" Rosie turned on Leia next.

Both girls choked this time.

"Grandma! It's not that important!" Leia said indignantly, nearly spilling soda on herself, but catching her can before it tipped too much.

"Really now? In my day, I went to every dance I could. You're not a baby forever, might as well live it up while you can." Smiled Rosie in a mischievous sort of way. "Leia, how come you aren't going?"

"Well... Cate's not going, and I didn't want her to be left all alone on that night, without any friends to talk to or anything to do." Leia shrugged. "We WERE planning on having a movie marathon night, you know... watching the seven movies about the boy wizard versus the moldy snake lord?"

"Ah, that one? You like your classics... Why not something like a documentary about the Justice League? That would be more informative." Rosie had a hand on her chin as she thought.

"Nah, we're not THAT in to history." Leia decided to keep Rosie on the subject of movies since it seemed to keep her from the topic of the dance coming up.

Rosie wasn't that easily distracted, however.

"But really, I can't see how hard it would be for you two to find dates. I know that one smart kid in your class has always had a crush on you, Leia." Rosie went on to say as though they'd never deviated away from the main subject, and Caitlyn and Leia sighed, looking at each other. They both knew they were thinking the same thing.

Why did grandparents have to be so sharp?

"And Cate, I heard that Mr. Wayne and his assistant paid you a visit. Why not go with Mr. McGinnis, he always seems like a good kid when I've seen him." Rosie went on to say as she took another sip of her soda.

Caitlyn was saved answering when Rosie's nurse came in to the room, knocking quietly before entering.

"Ah, Pearl! So glad you're here tonight instead of that Leslie!" Exclaimed Rosie at the sight of the silver-haired woman in her late fifties, wearing a purple nurses' outfit. It was common knowledge that Rosie was not a fan of her Morning Shift Nurse. But Leia and Caitlyn both knew that the more Rosie complained about something, the more likely it was good for her. Particularly the morning routine.

"Rosie, so good to see you. And you've got visitors!" Smiled Pearl as she set about administering Rosie's medicine.

"Time for medicine?" Rosie said with a hint of dread in her voice.

"Yes, Mrs. Bushnell. Medicine time." Smiled Pearl, as she prepared a nasty looking gel tablet for her to take. "Gotta make sure your blood pressure stays low after all."

"Crap cakes... I hate that pill." Grumbled Rosie as she drank it down with some water rather than her Pepsi.

"Well, Grandma, it's getting late, we'd better head back." Leia said when she realized that they'd spent two and a half hours visiting with her grandmother.

Rosie looked disappointed that they couldn't stay longer, but nodded all the same.

"You'd better get along then, thanks for coming by dearies." Rosie waved a little solemnly as the two girls left.

"I didn't realize you weren't attending the dance either, Leia." Blinked Caitlyn once they were well down the hall and out of earshot of the elderly woman. She didn't recall ever talking about it with her, then again, talking about things in depth with her friends was one of her downfalls in social lives.

"Well, I decided it would be a damn sight better if you had someone to watch movies with than sitting alone in your room." Smiled Leia as the got in to the elevator once more.

"Just because I'm not going doesn't mean you don't have to go!" Caitlyn protested. "Besides, Grandpa was planning on keeping me busy with work of some kind, it wouldn't be that much fun!"

The part about her Grandfather keeping her busy during dance night was true. He had planned on using that night for a training session in the Batgirl setting.

"I'll have to have a word with that old fart..." Grumbled Leia.

"Erm... Is that really necessary? I mean, you could still go and have fun without me at the Dance." Caitlyn looked rather nervous at the thought of her friend telling off her Grandfather, who was now one of two of her legal guardians according to her parent's wills.

The two of them argued all the way out of the hospital and down the street, to the yogurt shop they frequented where they stopped arguing to order their frozen yogurt cups and pick seats. Finally Caitlyn won the argument, because she felt she needed the training, and Leia needed to be with the rest of the troupe that night than being cooped up in a room watching movies all night.

"Ok, ok... I won't go on the warpath. I guess this means Grandma got her way in the end." Leia sighed as she took a bite of her kiwi and strawberry frozen yogurt, topped with nuts, and crumbled chocolate candy bars.

Caitlyn had her usual pomegranate and vanilla frozen yogurt bowl with berries and chocolate candy bars crumbled on top.

"I wonder if anyone's ever thought of reactivating that old Bat Signal..." Leia said randomly. "You know, the one your Great Grandfather used back in the day to summon the first Batman?"

"Yeah... Somehow I don't think Batman of today needs a Bat Signal. He seems to find his way around the City just fine when trouble strikes." Caitlyn wondered how her friend can focus so much on one thing. Then again, Leia tended to hyper focus a lot of the time.

"What a wonderful ray of sunshine you are." Kina's voice came from the other side of the gate that wrapped around the outside seating portion of the restaurant, and Caitlyn and Leia turned to see their red-haired co-cheerleader leaning against it with a broad smile on her face.

"You seem to be doing well, Kina." Caitlyn and Leia returned the red-head's smile. "Considering your boyfriend was the one who was caught and arrested." Caitlyn went on.

"Well, it's clear he wasn't as good a person as he appeared to be." Shrugged Kina. "I mean, ordering his sisters to kill someone because of some stupid reason no one knows about? Come on. I can do better than that."

"Glad to hear it. Why don't you come join us?" Asked Leia brightly.

"Nah, can't. Don't have the time. My parents are having a family night this afternoon." Kina had a look of pure dread on her face as she said this. "Wish I could though." She waved and walked away, her brilliant red hair shining in the Gotham City sunlight as hover cars zipped by on the roads.

"Heh... Her loss. Oh well." Leia shrugged. "At least we're still able to-"

She was interrupted in her sentence as Caitlyn's phone started ringing. Caitlyn gave an annoyed sigh as she reached in to her tote bag and pulled it out. After checking the Caller I.D. on her phone, she groaned.

"Grandpa." She said to Leia, who put her hand to her forehead in response as Caitlyn answered, knowing she couldn't ignore a call from her grandfather. "Yeah, Grandpa, what is it?"

"You need to come home right away. No arguments." Said Dick.

At to her, he sounded rather angry about something.

"Grandpa! I'm hanging out with Leia today! I told you that already!" Caitlyn protested rather loudly as a young man walked past that caught Leia's attention momentarily.

"I already said no arguments. Now come home." Dick snapped, hanging up before she could protest some more.

Caitlyn glared at her phone as she shoved it back in to her tote bag.

"Hey, Terry!" Leia waved at the young man who was walking by. It was only when Terry stopped to see who shouted that Leia saw there was a younger boy trying to pull free of his older brother's hand. "What are you doing on this end of town?"

"Eh, Mom wanted me to spend some quality time with my brother today." Terry said in a rather regretful and bored tone of voice.

"You have a brother? I never knew!" Leia rushed over as Caitlyn put the lid over her frozen yogurt treat she'd barely gotten halfway through. "Hey little guy!" Leia was saying to Matt, who was distracted for a moment at the sight of the cheerleaders from Gotham High School talking to him.

"Dude! Aren't you like, one of the cheerleaders from the school?" Asked Matt.

"Yup. That's me. Nice to meet ya!" Instead of shaking hands, Leia ruffled the little boy's jet black hair. "Oh! You're heading out Cate?"

"Yeah, I couldn't get the Grandfather unit to let me hang out with you longer." Sighed Caitlyn, putting a hand on Leia's shoulder in apology. "Hate to have to bail on you again."

"No worries. You kept your promise about seeing grandma today at least." Smiled Leia, though she wondered if it was at all possible to have a word with Barbara about letting her friend have a bit more freedom than the did.

Caitlyn decided not to be rude for once and gave a brief wave at Terry.

"Hey McGinnis." She said as she walked away.

"The name's Terry. I'd appreciate you use it for a change." Said a rather annoyed Terry as she walked past.

"Hey bro," Said Matt, still plainly within ear shot of Caitlyn. "Why don't you date one of those two girls? Having a girlfriend might make you less of a grump!"

"What did that little twerp just say?" Snapped Caitlyn turning around and nearly spilling her frozen yogurt all over the place.

"I'm just gonna have a word with him. See you ladies later!" And Terry dragged Matt away from the cheerleaders before he said anything that might result in violence from either of the girls.

"Hey! What's that for?" Asked Matt as he was pulled around the corner.

"You really need to learn not to speak what you think, bro." Said Terry, keeping a firm grip on his brother's wrist as he pulled him upright again. "Those two girls we were talking to might be cheerleaders, but one of them could do some serious damage if you're not careful."

"Hey, having someone to keep you in line might make things more bearable for me." Grinned Matt rather evilly.

Terry sighed, wishing his mother hadn't ordered the 'brothers bonding' afternoon.

* * *

><p>"What is it that was so urgent, Grandpa?" Caitlyn bellowed through the door as she came in rather moodily to the house.<p>

"I'm in here!" Dick called from the just-open door down the hall that led to the Command Center.

Caitlyn grumbled as she closed the main entrance to the house, and went in to the Command Center down below after pulling out the Batgirl suit from her tote, having the feeling of what this might lead to.

"What is it?" She asked begrudgingly.

"About time. There's a theft under way at the Gotham City Bank." Dick said, showing her the scenes on the computers mounted on the wall.

"Bank theft? Isn't that along the lines of police work, or at the very least, Batman work?" She asked.

"All Super Heroes- and in this case Heroines- have to start out somewhere. And for you, this is it. You need to get practice, and besides... The robber is a rather unique figure." Dick pointed at the centermost screen.

"Huh?" Blinked Caitlyn.

"You'll see." Dick played the scene, and she indeed saw the man change form right before her very eyes in to a security guard, before walking over to the entrance of the bank and waving a card before the security at the entrance and walking in.

"Shape shifter?" Stared Caitlyn as she was getting in to the Batgirl suit while making sure Dick was looking at the screens in front of him.

"Yeah. He was apparently a splicer, and got spliced so much his genetics became unstable. But he was able to find a way to control how he can transform, by using some form of genetic enhancements to his DNA. You'll have to be careful in figuring him out before attacking." Dick explained. "His name is James Roth. You might remember him."

"Yeah, I do." Caitlyn said as she put on the last piece of the suit, the Batgirl mask. "He was a classmate of ours up until a year ago."

"Then get to it. Make sure no one knows who you are." Dick nodded as she left.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Tactics of the Enemy **

Crouching on a building, Batgirl looked over the streets learning how to use the features of her Batgirl mask to zoom in the visual of her target as she listened to her Grandfather's instruction. The sun beat down on her, and the wind whipped around causing the ebony hair that hung loose behind her shoulders to flow and ripple. Frowning as she concentrated, she tensed as her target came in to light before vanishing once more in a crowd.

Anyone who looked at her would only see a dark violet shadow with a yellow bat insignia over her chest area.

* * *

><p>In the Command Center, Dick was watching the screens that were linked to the Batgirl suit's eyes.<p>

"I've got you on visual now." He said. "You need to find him first."

"How do I know he'll be Shape Shifter when I find him?" She asked.

"You'll know." Replied Dick.

* * *

><p>"Nice guidelines." She grumbled, and she heard a chuckle in her ears in response. She frowned. She was already feeling mutinous to her grandfather for cutting short her afternoon with her friend.<p>

"Activate the cloaking device so you won't be seen." Advised Dick, and she gave an unseen nod as she stood up, vanishing from view of the naked eye before jumping off the building, flying towards the Gotham City Bank where Shape Shifter was last seen.

"You don't think he'd be stupid enough to hang around the scene of the crime, do you?" She asked as she landed at the top of a neighboring skyscraper just across the street from the Bank.

"Not likely. But when in doubt, check it out. At least that's what your mother would say." Dick gave an unseen shrug of the shoulders in response to her question.

"That's right... Mom was Batgirl once too..." She mumbled, before looking around the street for any sign of movement. She then spotted the alley way just around the corner of the Bank itself. "That looks like a possible hiding spot for today's typical bank robber." She mumbled before jumping off the skyscraper rooftop and flying with the aid of the rocket boosters at her feet.

She landed quietly on the brick wall that shrouded the alley in shadows. Staring down, she could see a figure standing. Before her very eyes, the figure transformed in to a completely different person than the security personnel he'd been impersonating moments earlier. Now he was a tall, slim woman with blond hair and pale blue eyes.

"Hello, James Roth." She said, causing the shape shifter to jump on the spot. "I think someone decided to quit school a little early. I've seen better plastic surgery on celebrities at Halloween time."

"Well aren't you the sarcastic little phantom." Snarled the thief, staring wildly around. "Why don't you just show yourself already and be done with this whole thing?"

The invisible Batgirl grinned beneath her mask, and jumped down, blocking the alley way's only exit with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Hey." She said, causing James to turn around, swinging the large sack he carried rather wildly, but still missing her. She deactivated the cloaking device.

"You... you're that new Batgirl people are talking about!" He said, his eyes wide.

"The very same." She smiled sarcastically. "Now, are you going to come quietly, or be stupid about this whole thing?"

Instead of answering verbally, James transformed from the woman to a cat-like man with a calico skin and retractable claws for his fingernails.

"Nice fur. I'm sure it'd make some wealthy woman proud in the form of a jacket." Batgirl sneered.

Dick watched the whole scene from his chair in the Command Center with a disapproving frown on his face.

"Don't get too cocky. This is only your second mission. Things can still go wrong in a heartbeat." He advised.

"Yeah I know, boss." She replied. "I just like pissing these cowards off to the point of attacking blindly." She added low enough that James wouldn't hear.

Just that very sentence seemed to trigger something in James, he let out a loud roar before running at her.

She didn't move quick enough as she attempted to dodge, and winced as his claws struck her arm, causing four deep gashes on her left shoulder before she got out of the way.

"Not so cocky now, are you you little bitch?" He sneered, showing his fangs.

"I wouldn't say that..." Batgirl grumbled as she withdrew three bat-a-rangs with her right hand, ignoring the throbbing of her left shoulder and her grandfather's yell of concern right in her ears.

As James turned around, bringing up his clawed hands for another strike. She threw the three bat-a-rangs at once, right at his face and arms. They exploded, sending clouds of smoke and fire, temporarily blinding him, stopping him in his tracks long enough for her to swing her fist in his face, sending him flying backwards in to a brick wall as the police hovercraft were coming around the corner.

Another bat-a-rang came in to her hand, and she threw it in the general direction of his mid-section. The bat-a-rang split apart in to two sections held together by a clear but thick cord that wrapped around him four times, pulling his arms to his sides and forcing him to fall over just as he was standing up from the collision with the wall. She walked over to the bag of the Cash Cards as Barbara hurried out of her Police Craft.

"Here you go, Police Commissioner. The thief, and all the things that he stole. You might want to inquire about his rather unique plastic surgery too." She said to Barbara, who was staring with narrowed eyes at the gashes on Batgirl's left arm.

"You'd better go and get that checked out. We'll take things over from here." She said in a 'get-going-NOW' sort of voice.

"Right." Batgirl nodded, knowing better than to stick around and argue with the Police Commissioner. Especially when said Police Commissioner knew who she really was, and thus could still boss her around.

* * *

><p>"Your reactions are still much too slow if you're getting injured during the first five minutes of a fight."<p>

She was being scolded by her Grandfather upon her return as he applied medicine to her scratches on her left shoulder. Sitting in a dining table chair facing the back yard of the house for something to look at, she frowned. Dick had insisted on treating the injury she'd sustained from James Roth to keep it from getting infected. It stung like nothing she'd felt before, and a few expletives escaped her mouth as she winced.

"Damn it all...!" She clenched her right hand in to a fist to keep herself from saying anything else.

Dick sighed in minor irritation at his granddaughter's apparent lack in tact as he took care of the last wound she'd gotten from the shape shifting thief.

"Then again, this was only your second mission. So it would've been a miracle if each mission was a rousing success." He mumbled, putting large, square and brown band aids over the wounds now.

"Hey, the guy got caught, didn't he? And the stuff he stole was returned... shouldn't that be good enough?" She retorted.

"It's not. Your execution still needs work...And you still need practice with your reflexes and fighting techniques as the new Batgirl." Replied Dick calmly and cooly, choosing not to get perplexed by his granddaughter's attitude that she'd adopted that day. "Now, once we're sure the medicine's had a chance to do what it's supposed to, I'd like you to do some shopping for us. Your grandmother's running late, and I've got a lot to do in the Command Center."

" BUT GRANDPA-!" Caitlyn started to protest, but he raised a hand in a polite refusal to argue farther about it.

"I understand school's out for the week due to certain power problems, and you'd like to spend time with your friends. However, I'd prefer you spend some time helping out around the house. Besides, I'll be giving you forty bucks on your own cash card to spend on yourself however you want once you get our shopping taken care of. Just wait twenty minutes for your medicine to kick in, and you should be fine." Dick held up his own cash card to hand to her, patted her on the head- which earned him a mutinous scowl- then went down to the Command Center without another word.

"A simple 'thank you for doing a good job on your second mission' would suffice." She grumbled once the door was closed behind his back.

She shot off a quick text message to Leia apologizing about the fact that she wouldn't be able to hang out the rest of the day, seeing as her grandfather had her running errands, then grabbed her tote bag- making sure her Batgirl suit, freshly repaired an hour before, was tucked inside it- and headed out the door once the time was up for waiting for her medicines to kick in.

* * *

><p>Terry was bored out of his wits, leaning against the wall of the video arcade where his little brother Matt was currently screaming at the screen of a racing arcade game.<p>

"Hey, come on! Outta the way ya jerk!" Matt shouted as someone was apparently blocking his way on the game.

Right at that moment, Terry's cell phone rang, and he picked it up.

"Bruce? Man... for once I'm glad you're calling..." Terry said, not bothering to keep his voice down due to the level of noise from the other kids in the arcade building.

"Having fun?" Asked Bruce, his voice full of sarcasm over the phone.

"Not particularly. Mom ordered a 'brother's bonding' afternoon." Sighed Terry rather unenthusiastically. In all honesty, he'd been on the verge of counting dust balls on the ceiling out of boredom.

"Well, that's going to have to be put on hold. Tell your mother you've got work to do for me." Said Bruce with an unseen smirk on his face. "On your way to the mansion, I need you to pick up some things-" And he told Terry what he needed from the stores.

"Gladly. I'll see you in a few." He hung up, then dialed his mother, telling him the news, apologizing profusely when she started to get angry at him. "Hey, just be glad I didn't ditch him here, and I'm bringing him back home before doing Mr. Wayn'es bidding." Terry managed to avoid a shout-fest from his mother, then went over to literally pull Matt away from the game. "Come on, shrimp. Boss called, time to get home."

"WHAT? But I was about to win!" Matt yelled at his older brother, who rolled his eyes. "Come on, let me finish!"

"No can do, squirt." Sighed Terry as he dragged Matt from the arcade, avoiding being ran in to by a group of run-away kids in the process.

The whole time Matt argued with Terry down the street, at least until something distracted the younger of the two brothers.

"Hey, bro! It's that one cheerleader who acts like a barracuda!" He pointed at Caitlyn, who was walking with her head buried in a miniature notebook that was apparently a shopping list.

Caitlyn heard Matt, and before Terry could say something, she had looked up and over at the two.

"Listen shorty, you remember that one-eyed monster from the movie about scaring kids for a living?" She snarled with a kind smile that seemed to bode ill for anyone who saw it.

"Yeah?" Asked Matt, oblivious to any sign of danger approaching.

"Well, if you're not careful, you'll be a dodge ball just like he was in the first three years of elementary school... So I'd refrain from any more smart remarks like that if you wanna live to puberty. Do we have an understanding?" She asked.

"Ummm... yes?" Matt stared at her like he'd never met anyone quite like Caitlyn.

"Good. I'm glad we had this little chat. Nice brother you've got there McGinnis." She said sarcastically to Terry.

"It's TERRY! I'd appreciate you use the name once in a while!" Terry snapped.

"You know, bro, she'd make a great girlfriend for you." Said Matt as Caitlyn rounded the corner and out of sight.

Terry stared bemused at his brother, choosing not to comment on that for once. If he delayed his errands any farther, Bruce was likely to cut his paycheck for being so slow when on call like this. He rather liked being able to do something fun on the weekend, after all.

"Come on, let's get you home." He said, pulling Matt along by the wrist again. Once they got to their home, Terry knocked on the door and his mother answered. "Sorry to bail like this, but whatever Bruce says, goes." He shrugged regrettably as Matt went through the door.

"Just stay safe, Terry. I know Mr. Wayne has you going all over town, but it doesn't mean you can't look after yourself." His mother smiled as he waved, turning away again, pulling out his cellphone.

Once the door was shut, he called Bruce again.

"So, what do you really need me to do?" He asked.

"Dropped your brother off at home already?" Replied Bruce calmly.

"Yeah."

"Then there's a place I need Batman to check out. I received some intel on it earlier today." Said Bruce. "It seems that Splicing is on the rise among students these days. There could be something illegal going on at City Tech. downtown. James Roth, that ex classmate of yours, told police that that's where he got his Splicing job done which turned him pretty much in to a human chameleon. Or as he likes to call himself now, Shape Shifter."

"Right. I'm on it." Replied Terry.

"You don't need to round HIM up. Batgirl took care of that earlier today. Just try and learn what you can about City Tech. before they get out of hand. Take THEM down if necessary." Bruce warned before cutting the communication.

So, City Tech was up to something if James Roth was turning up after months of absence from school as a thief now, thought Terry before heading out back down the street.

A few moments later, Batman soared through the sky, using the rocket boosters to control where he went, and his wings to give him more height as he made to the building that he last heard rumors about Splicing going on in the school from.

* * *

><p>In a towering sky scraper in downtown Gotham City, at the highest level paced a man in a white lab coat rather moodily. Seamus Reed had pale skin without a tan, and gunmetal gray eyes. Apart from the lab coat, he wore a navy blue v-neck shirt, brown slacks, and black shoes.<p>

"What do you mean Roth was captured? BY WHO?" He demanded, running a pale peach hand through his brown hair.

"I dunno boss!" Said the man he'd shouted at. "I think our networks said something about a new Batgirl in town. She was on him the moment he left the bank."

The man was short and chubby compared to his employer, but that didn't mean he was completely worthless to the company. He also wore a white lab coat, while his hair was blond, and he had more of a tan than his boss.

"We saw her on the security cameras we nicked from the bank!" He added as his boss glared at him.

"Great...One Bat was annoying enough... But now we've got two of them?" Snarled the boss.

"It's just...I'm not sure if they're on the same side all the time." The portly man said rather quickly. "You know, there's rumors that Batgirl took care of James on her own today? And rumors that Batman only came to help at the last minute with the whole fiasco with that Knave fellow."

"Hmm..." The boss sat down in his chair behind his mahogany desk that faced the window, overlooking Gotham City in the evening setting. "That's interesting and all, but that doesn't get me any closer to working out the perfect genetics for a human chameleon. I need James Roth for that. And we need to get him out of prison. Have they posted a Bail price on him yet?"

"No, and the judge said she won't. He poses too much of a threat if he's able to nearly escape from Batgirl." Replied the chubby man on the other side of his desk.

"Then we'll need to call in a few favors..." Seamus had his fingers pressed together lightly in thought. "I know of a person who could give this new meddling Bat a run for her money... I just hope she's ready for a challenge. Breaking in to Gotham City prison is no mean feat..." He trailed off, apparently lost in thought.

"Boss?" Said the blond, chubby man standing on the other side of his desk.

"Once we get James out, we'll have to take care of the new Batgirl that's cropped up around town before she becomes too much of a nuisance." Seamus came out of his revere. "We don't need Batgirl OR Batman snooping around here. If they find out anything, it would ruin what we're attempting to accomplish."

The other man didn't say anything in response to this proclamation. At least for a short while.

"But sir, it would be suicidal to go after Batman... What if we just got rid of Batgirl? She's so new at this, it would probably be easier to kill her than the more experienced of the two."

"Hmmm... That's true, Nicholas... That's true." Seamus pondered this for a moment. "It would probably help us all if there was one less Bat in Gotham City anyways. I'll just have our friends handle Batgirl then... So long as it's done swiftly, and quietly without letting Batman or any of the other Supers know we're getting rid of a problem before it gets out of hand."

"Right. I'll let the gang know." Nodded Nicholas, and he was dismissed from the office.

"Make sure she's taken care of before James is broken out of jail." Warned Seamus before the door closed behind Nathan.

* * *

><p>Batman frowned as he sat invisible outside the window. Seamus, the new C.E.O. of Gotham City Tech. was apparently dabbing in to the darker side of power in his genetic research, from what he gathered as he listened in on the conversation, his forefinger and index fingers pressed lightly against the window. And he had Batgirl to worry about now too. Not that she couldn't take care of herself, she'd proven that on her first mission. But that didn't mean he still wouldn't worry, especially if she now had a hit price on her head from a bunch of butt hurt thugs angry at her capturing their favorite testing monkey.<p>

He jumped away from the building, still using the cloaking device to keep himself invisible from any unwelcome eyes that looked out the window, and was soon flying off in the opposite direction.

"Terry, what are you doing?" Came Bruce's voice over the intercom in his ears. "You're supposed to be keeping an eye on City Tech."

"I've gotta warn Batgirl, at least put her on her guard. Seamus from Gotham City Tech. is putting a bunch of thugs out to kill her for taking James out." Replied Terry beneath the mask of Batman.

"Any ideas where she could be?" Replied Bruce, sounding as though he wasn't thrilled at his subordinate's reaction to this latest mission.

"I've got a few. And if I can't find her, then I'll just warn the Police Commissioner. Those two seem to be working together anyways."

* * *

><p>Bruce frowned as he sat in the Batcave, Ace the Bathound laying contentedly at his feet.<p>

_You have no idea, Terry..._ He thought, in regards to Terry's suspicions about Batgirl and Barbara working together. He already had figured out that Batgirl was Caitlyn Boardener, however, that would be something Terry would have to find out on his own. Unless he already had, and was just keeping the secret due to the girl's hostility towards him. He was certain that Barbara was thinking the same in regards to Batgirl finding out that Terry McGinnis, Bruce's assistant, was really Batman. These were the type of things the heroes and heroines found out on their own, without the interference of their mentors.

Bruce felt certain that once either they found out about each other, or they came to grips with the situation at hand, things would fall in to place for the two. He knew they should be working as a team, but sometimes that took time for the trust and friendships to build. It certainly did for Robin and the Teen Titans, but now they were a strong force on the Western Coast of the United States. Perhaps once the shock of loosing her parents, and the betrayal of the Dee Twins wore off, Caitlyn would accept Batman as an ally. He would just have to see how things went, but at least time was one thing he had plenty of these days.

The elderly man never said much on the matter, but he did care about Terry's well being. And he did notice the young man spent a lot of time worrying over the girl that didn't think twice about him, and pretty much hated him.

Ace let out a whine, and Bruce glanced down at his dog, figuring he was hungry.

"Ready for some dinner?" He asked, and the dog stood up, wagging his tail enthusiastically, dark eyes pleading as though saying 'YES! Feed me already!' before Bruce grabbed his cane and hobbled up the stairs from the Batcave to the main household of Wayne Manor.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn had finished her shopping hours ago. Since she finished her homework for school earlier that day, she now had plenty of time for her duty as Batgirl, according to her grandfather. Her grandmother was off for the evening, giving Dick a break from his job of mentoring her while she was on the field and currently sat in the Command Center.<p>

So she donned the Batgirl suit once more, and was standing atop a stone Griffin on one of the higher levels of an older building in the center of town, crouched catlike as she stared over the city scape of Gotham City. The wind blew regularly at this height, the skyscraper was so high it practically made its own weather at times. The darkness of her outfit made her blend in to the shadows cast by the stone Griffin and the edge of the building. She was slowly getting used to the power of the Batgirl suit, getting more comfortable with these normally awkward positions, and her flying was becoming steadier the more she practiced.

"I know it's not what you had planned this evening, but I want to see how you are improving." Barbara's voice came over the communications piece in her ears.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. At least it's not raining, or storming out here. That's all I have to say." Replied Batgirl as she stood up after getting her footing on the head of the Griffin statue. "Still a little clumsy..." She mumbled, more to herself than her grandmother.

"You'll get used to it over time." Barbara's reassuring voice calmed her a little when she realized just how far up this rather imposing building she really was. "Just don't think about the height, and focus on what you're doing. You'll find it's easier to get along that way."

"Right..." Batgirl closed her eyes for a moment to get a grip on herself before opening them again with a new sense of focus.

"Hey." Came a voice from her left side.

She turned to see Batman standing on the neighboring Griffin. She hadn't even heard him approaching, but then again, he had been the Dark Knight far longer than she'd been Batgirl, so he was bound to have stealth skills she had yet to develop. She frowned at the sight.

"What do you want?" She asked.

"Just thought I'd pass along a warning." Shrugged Batman casually. "Gotham City Tech. has put a price on your head, and they want you dead for catching that Shape Shifter fellow earlier today. Just be on your guard."

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." She turned away.

"Hey, if you want, I can help you out." Batman said quickly.

"No thanks." She snapped, before jumping off the Griffin she'd been perched on, and activating the rocket boosters, flying away as fast as the Batgirl suit would allow.

Batman decided that for now, he wouldn't follow her. But at least she knew what to look out for now. He sighed, scratching the back of his head in a frustrated manner before taking off in his own direction to patrol Gotham City in.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: **

**Allies of the Night **

Caitlyn was yawning and stretching that morning as she walked down a street in Gotham City. It had been a long night, she'd barely been able to get any sleep in, and she was almost thinking longingly of Math Class where she could pretend to be interested in what the teacher was teaching, and doze off halfway through. It was still a few days yet before school was back in action, though. Plus, she'd already finished her homework.

Today she wore a t-shirt that was dark green on the front and back, and light green on the sleeves and at the v-neck line. She wore dark blue jeans, and a pair of tennis shoes, while hanging a tote bag on her shoulder- today her tote bag was dark green with spring green colored butterflies dancing up and down it.

She didn't feel much like calling Leia that day, so she decided to go have some pizza instead. After checking the amount of money on her cash card, she went to her favorite pizza restaurant. While she knew it wasn't like her to be going out on her own, she felt it was for the best, as she waited in the line at the Pizza Castle for a seat next to a window.

A few moments later, she was sitting at a booth table next to a window in the Pizza Castle restaurant, waiting for her order as she slowly sipped her Diet Pepsi drink, humming a tune to herself from one of her favorite Japanese programs. She was glad to be taking a break from her duties, enjoying some good old, artery clogging food at another of her favorite restaurants in Gotham City, without being attacked or having the media follow her like hound dogs because of her relations and who she was living with.

On her wrist was the bracelet her mother had given her just days before she'd been killed. She moved her wrist enough so she could see it properly in the city lights, wondering if her mother had known she'd one day take up the mantle of Batgirl, or if she'd just wanted to pass on a family heirloom.

"Here you go, Miss Boardener." Said the waitress, startling Caitlyn, but putting the pizza on the table in front of her.

"Thanks Jen." Caitlyn said to the waitress with a wave, knowing her from a higher class in school. She put a couple slices of her pizza on to her white plate, and started eating without farther ado.

* * *

><p>Kina was walking down the street on her own, something that was considered unusual for a cheerleader of Gotham City High School. But she didn't care. She had a job to do, and getting to her destination was the first on her priority list. She'd taken a leaf out of Caitlyn's book, and was carrying a tote bag with her, in it was something that she was saving for just such an occasion as this.<p>

After finding a dark alley way nearby the prison center, she slipped in to the alley. When she made sure no one was around to see this, she pulled the suit out of the tote bag. She had also made sure there was nothing related to identification, or anything personal in the bag besides the suit she now had in her hands. She changed in to the suit rather quickly, in just a few moments, she had transformed her appearance.

She now wore a black, skin tight leather outfit. The boots were knee length, high heeled, and lined with an upside down canary yellow triangle point. There was a single canary yellow stripe on each side of her mid thigh, that went from the knee to her inner thigh. Around her waist was a silver belt, clipped to that belt was a black and red whip wrapped in a way that kept it from interfering with what she was going to be doing unless it was needed. The top of the suit was more like a bustier, which had triangles cut in to the sides- one for each side above her waist. The neckline was a v-shape, and the bustier was held together with a netted pattern tied in the front from her waist up to the v of the neck. Her arms were covered in black leather gloves which went up to the shoulders, and tied on the outside in the same manner as the bustier, though she had canary yellow glove-lets from the wrists to the knuckles of her index finger. Around her neck was a black choker with a giant ruby gleaming in the evening light. Her mask was the same black leather as her suit, covered her face without going over her nose. The ears stuck up catlike, and from them dangled black ankle length chains with silver weights on the end the size of golf balls, only these balls had spikes on all sides which she could use as a weapon if all else failed. The Bustier was held on to her body by tank-top style straps that went over her shoulder, and were both canary yellow and crimson, and her fingernails were grown out and painted the same shade of red as her hair, which stuck out vividly from her mask.

The suit itself had many qualities that she was thrilled with. Her boyfriend had worked long and hard to make it something that she'd be able to go up against Batman and Batgirl should she need to. But in this suit, she called herself Catwoman. This was the first time she'd broken in to the suit in its entirety, but she already knew what it could do. So she would be testing out its limits today, especially since she was most likely to attract Batman or Batgirl... Or both.

She jumped up over the alley, and in the blink of an eye, she'd moved swiftly through the skies with the aid of the rocket boosters from her feet. The guards froze as they saw the catlike woman landing in a crouch before them, before aiming their laser guns at her. It was too late, however. She'd already spun around, knocking the guard on the right in to his fellow with the heavy chains that hung from the tips of her ears to her ankles. She disappeared before their very eyes as the cloaking device on her suit was activated, and she slunk in to the prison, searching for one cell in particular.

Just as she entered the Prisoners' Quarters, a red light started flashing, and an annoying sound reached her ears when the alarm went off. _Nothing like a little incentive to keep one moving quickly..._ She thought.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn was just leaving the Pizza Castle when she got the call on her cell phone about the break in to the Gotham City Prison Center.<p>

"Ok, I'm on it." She said in to her cell phone to her grandfather, glad she'd had a small Hawaiian Pizza and a salad instead of her usual Large Hawaiian. She found a dark alley way to change in before heading in the direction of the Prison Center even though Batman had warned her against the next case, she still had to check it out.

* * *

><p>Batman was already on the case, having learned earlier that someone was going to attempt to break in to the Prison. Kneeling down, he used his infra-red vision in his mask to see where the intruder was now before he would figure out what needed to be done next.<p>

"Find out where they are?" Asked a voice from behind. Batgirl was already here, which did not please him in the slightest bit. He had already warned her what was going to be going on, and she still insisted on coming.

"No. Not yet." He decided to forgo the lecture, at least for now. She'd find out the hard way what it was like to have a death threat on one's head.

"Well, there's one way to find them..." Batgirl had gotten the call from her grandfather that someone was breaking in to the Gotham City Prison. She had little patience for Batman's method of tracking down intruders when people could be getting hurt in the process. She couldn't care less if some rogue business had put a price on her head.

Before Batman could say anything else, she'd jumped in to the building, activating her cloaking device to avoid being seen by any of the guards until it was time.

Batman wondered for a moment why he had to have such an impatient team-mate in the form of Batgirl before he followed her. He wasn't thrilled that she had come, even after the warning he gave her earlier that day. It looked like she was going to learn the hard way how the bad guys in Gotham City could get.

"We'll split up. We can cover more ground that way." He told her, and she nodded.

* * *

><p>"Plus that means the less time I have to be around you." She mumbled, inaudible as she turned in the opposite direction. She made her way past the security undetected, wondering how Police could be so lame as to not see them even if they had activated the cloaking devices on their Bat suits.<p>

"I've located the intruder in Cell Block E," Dick's voice came over the intercom in her ears. She nodded and made towards the eastern portion of the Prison Center.

Along the rafters she jumped, using grappling cords from the bat-a-rangs to make sure her descent down the levels was smooth. Many people turned their heads towards the noises, but they saw nothing and assumed it was just one of the many paranormal events that took place in the prison. Her landings still weren't smooth and seamless, but she felt that she was improving with her stealth at least. She spotted the intruder in front of a solitary confinement cell on the bottom level and frowned, knowing that vibrant red hair from somewhere.

Was everyone on the cheerleader's squad evil and twisted, or had some hidden secret?

"Here, kitty kitty kitty..." Batgirl said, and the red haired girl spun around on the spot.

"Oh, it looks like we've got a comedian here." Snarled the red-head. "Time to liven things up a bit. My proper name is Catwoman."

"Catwoman? Isn't Catwoman supposed to be on the good-guy's side?" Asked Batgirl.

"Not this kitty." From her belt, Catwoman pulled out a Cat-a-rang, which was almost exactly like the Bat-a-rang used by Batman and Batgirl, but with a Cat-twist to its design.

Batgirl withdrew two Bat-a-rangs from the hands of her suit.

Beneath the mask, Caitlyn frowned as the two circled each other, recognizing each others' movements from having spent so much time on the cheerleading squad. But not wanting to make the first move to give the other an excuse to attack.

"So, Batgirl, have you ever fought someone in a suit similar to yours?" Catwoman sneered. She rather liked her style better than Batgirl's. For one thing, it showed that she had emotions. The silences from Batgirl annoyed her to no end because she couldn't tell what the woman was thinking, even if she had an idea already who she was just by watching her for a few moments.

Finally it was Batgirl who grew impatient, and she reactivated her cloaking device.

"Where'd you go Batgirl?" Catwoman stared wildly around.

"What's the matter? Can't you see me with that high-tech suit of yours?" Taunted Batgirl, now somewhere near her right.

Catwoman launched the Cat-a-rangs in the direction that Batgirl's voice came from, making a mental note to upgrade the visual specks on her suit next time Knave was out of the nut house. Next thing she knew, black high heeled boots had collided with her face, sending her flying backwards as Batgirl came back in to the line of sight.

"You're pretty pathetic, Catwoman, to be trying to break IN to a prison cell block. You must be pretty eager to join your buddy, Shape Shifter." Batgirl taunted as Catwoman jumped up to her feet in one fluid movement.

"And we've got news for you, it ain't gonna happen." Batman had heard the commotion during his search of the other half of the building, and immediately made his way back around.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Snarled Catwoman. "You'd think a guy would feel out of place among all these girls..." She said as she pulled out her whip that was tied up on her belt with a crack that sounded like lightning.

"Nah, I'm having too much fun here." Smirked Batman with a casual shrug, earning a glare from both Catwoman and Batgirl. "What?" He asked.

"You actually work with this guy?" Catwoman looked at Batgirl.

"It's not an every day thing... Thank God..." She replied. "I'd go nuts."

"I hear ya..."

"HEY!" Batman snarled. "I'm right here, you know."

"Now... Where were we before we were interrupted? Oh yeah..." Catwoman rammed her fist in to Batgirl's face, sending her flying backwards in to the railing that led to an open portion of the cell blocks hundreds of feet high.

"An eye for an eye." Catwoman snarled before Batman appeared in her line of sight, throwing his own fists at her face.

"Right back at you." He retorted before swinging his knee in to her gut, which caused her to keel over on the spot for a moment.

From his spot in the prison cell, James Roth could hear the fight that was going on and he grinned, transforming in to a small cockroach when he found a hole in the wall that led to the outside. By the time he was climbing on the outside walls of his cell, he could see Batman dodging a whip that was cracking right in his direction while Batgirl was making her way around the fight to get behind Catwoman.

"Nothing like a cat fight in the prison cells to liven up an evening..." Said Batman as he dodged another whip attack, and threw a Bat-a-rang at her. She cracked her whip instantly in response, sending the Bat-a-rang flying in to a pole nearby. At least until Batgirl slammed her elbow in to the back of Catwoman's head, having managed to sneak in from behind.

The moment Catwoman was out cold, Shape Shifter jumped from his spot on the wall, transforming in mid air in to a tall, lean man with shoulder-length blond hair. His hands were clenched in to fists as he swung them wildly at Batgirl, and one of his fists made contact, sending Batgirl flying in to the far wall.

He had not counted on Batman, however, who took advantage of his distraction once he was certain that Catwoman was out cold, and swung his leg in to the back of Shape Shifter's head. Shape Shifter crashed in to the railing on the edge of the rafter they were fighting on, nearly falling over.

Batgirl sat up, clinging to a pole on the wall, shaking her head like a wounded dog as Shape Shifter came flying in to the wall with a loud crash. She swung her own leg around and kneed him in the gut hard before he had a chance to recover, and watched him fall to the floor in a mundane sort of way.

"Overkill much?" Asked Batman from his spot on the rafters as she flipped herself on to the railing in a single swift motion from the wall, Batgirl being glad that her feet had the magnetic enhancements in the suit so she could walk on virtually any surface.

"Better than not doing the job right the first time." She replied.

* * *

><p>Barbara sat in her office chair, looking out at Gotham City wondering how her granddaughter was doing on the job tonight. She'd been thinking about all that had been going on in Gotham City as of late. Caitlyn in the thick of it as Batgirl. She'd had to give up on Martial Arts entirely, something that she'd enjoyed doing before she became Batgirl. She still managed to hang on to her Cheerleading position at school, and her friends so far had been loyal in spite of her being interrupted all the time for her new job.<p>

She wondered how long her granddaughter would be able to hold on to this double life before they both melted together. Wondered how long it would take for things to unravel even farther for her granddaughter than they already had.

She thought back to a conversation she had with her father once, long ago, after she'd become Batgirl. And she tried to tell her father about her duties as Batgirl. Jim Gordon had been such a kind, and understanding man, Barbara wished Caitlyn had the chance to get to know him. He passed away when Caitlyn had only been six years old, not from an incident on the job, but from old age and sickness. When Jim died, he'd already been fighting pneumonia for six weeks and was incredibly weak. Barbara was glad she had Dick by her side during that time. Not only was she still paralyzed then, but it was an emotional period for her especially since the rest of her family couldn't make it to her father's sick bed.

The current Barbara rubbed her forehead as she thought about how ironic it was now for her to be occupying her grandfather's seat in City Hall, while Dick was teaching Caitlyn the ropes of being a super heroine. So far, when she'd been able to take a break from her duties as police commissioner and see her granddaughter's progress, she was impressed against her will as to how well Caitlyn was falling in to the role of Batgirl. A role that had substantially changed her life from day one, and expanded her world in more ways than anyone could have imagined.

There was just one problem. Caitlyn's grades were suffering, worse than usual. Barbara got the report card in the mail that morning with a jolt of unpleasantness, yet all of them had been too busy to focus much on education that day. And with a death sentence on Batgirl's head, and more security around Caitlyn, it was going to be harder to catch up. But Barbara Gordon wasn't about to let her granddaughter fail in school, nor in her duties as Batgirl. It was time to have a talk with Caitlyn about finding a balance in her life without letting things fall so out of balance they seem out of place.

* * *

><p>Batgirl stood on top of the building she'd just been fighting in, catching her breath before deciding where to go next. Catwoman had managed to sneak off during the moments they'd been focussing on Shape Shifter, but Shape Shifter was once again behind bars at Arkham.<p>

"Hey, you know the offer still stands for being a team." Batman said before she vanished again.

"How long are you planning to keep this up? Asking me every chance you get?" She turned to face him and he grinned with a shrug.

"Till I get a more definitive answer other than 'maybe'. I mean, come on, you have to admit, we make a pretty good team." Batman relaxed when he was certain she wasn't going to start throwing Bat-a-rangs at him.

Batgirl gave an annoyed sigh as her grandfather's voice spoke in to her ears from the intercom in her mask.

"You might as well give in. You'd be surprised how much of a broken record that young man can be like." Dick said with a chuckle.

There was a long silence, until Batgirl finally held up her hand.

"Fine. I can give this whole 'ally with the Dark Knight of Gotham City' thing a shot." She said as he reached up with his own hand to shake hers.

* * *

><p>Nearby, Kina Lenne watched from the shadows, having shed her Catwoman suit rather quickly. She frowned at the sight of Batman and Batgirl shaking hands in an obvious alliance that was kindling. That would certainly make life more difficult for her and her kind. Not that life was easy with just one Bat hanging around Gotham City anyways. But that was beside the point, she thought as she turned her back on the police department's building, heading for the mall for some shopping with some Cash Cards she stole on her way over. Just because her job had been to set the Shape Shifter free, did not mean that was the only thing she was after.<p>

* * *

><p>Leia was bored out of her wits, with the television in her bedroom blaring the latest news report about the current fight in the Police Department's headquarters. She was laying flat on her back with random desk objects floating around her head in the sky, her blond hair hanging loose and wavy to her shoulders since she finished her homework. She wore an orange tank-top with a u-neck, as well as knee length shorts, and white socks as she played with her powers that she'd been keeping secret from everyone. At least until someone knocked on her bedroom door.<p>

The objects she'd been levitating came crashing on to her bed, making her ever grateful she did not use her ink bottle from her traditional inked art that she liked to do when there was nothing else for entertainment.

"Who is it?" She asked, scrambling to grab her mug, erasers, and mechanical pencils.

"Take a wild guess." Grinned Melody, seeing the mess that Leia was currently trying to clean up from her bed. "You doing ok? I heard Cate had to bail cause of her grandparents again."

"Oh yeah, just fine!" Leia smiled, as she put her things on her desk once more. "We were hanging out earlier yesterday, so it's no biggie."

"Yeah, plus it gave you time to finish that essay from History so mom wouldn't scream down your throat." Grinned Melody, tossing her little sister a small package of her favorite sour cream and onion flavored potato chips. "Well, see you later. I'm heading to bed early tonight." She yawned, closing the bedroom door behind her as she left.

Leia held the bag of chips in her hand, wondering if Melody knew about her secret and was just not saying anything. Or if Melody really hadn't noticed the objects that came crashing down around her on her bed. Either way, she was glad that her sister was such a good secret keeper. Though she did miss hanging out with Caitlyn, but she understood the desire for Cate to be closer to her grandparents since her own parents were killed in cold blood just a few weeks ago. She sighed, flopping back on her bed as the news reports covered the latest fight between the two Bat heroes and a couple of thugs trying to break out of the Prison department, munching on her chips as she watched the news report.


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: **

**Finding Balance **

"Uh... something ok?" Asked Caitlyn when she returned home after the mission.

She saw her grandparents sitting at the dining table with mugs of coffee. Both of them had an expression on their faces that told her she was in for a serious discussion.

"Not really... We got your report card in today." Barbara showed her the paper that was on the table between them.

"What? But those weren't due till next week!" Caitlyn protested, running over, dropping her tote bag rather carelessly on the floor next to the wall as she ran.

"Well apparently because a certain fight cut the power from the school for a few days, the Principal decided to sent out the report card early, in the hopes that it might change a few study habits before school starts up again." Replied Barbara rather curtly as Caitlyn stared at the grades on the report card.

She was failing math, no surprises there. But she was getting an 'a' in history, science and biology. Which was more than she could've hoped for. But judging by the looks on her grandparents' faces, they felt she could do better than she was in school.

"Now listen, Cate, we know these last few weeks have been difficult for you-" Dick said slowly, as though testing the waters on this topic.

"That's an understatement..." Grumbled Caitlyn as she took a seat.

"But that's no excuse for getting failing grades in half of your classes. You need to apply yourself more, and stop zoning out when you're supposed to be working." Dick went on as though he hadn't heard her. "Don't give me that look. I know you hate math, but there's nothing wrong with asking for help in your homework. I remember quite well that your father spent a bit of time helping you in your schooling. And we think it's time you had your grandmother help you with your homework. I would do it, but I'm too busy these days in the Command Center. So before you do anything else, unless it's an emergency that requires Batgirl's presence, for two hours every day until your grades improve, Barb will be your tutor."

"BUT-!" Caitlyn began to protest. This was the worst thing that could've happened, besides having her parents murdered two weeks ago.

"No buts." Barbara said warningly. "Even as Nightwing, your grandfather still managed to make time for a normal life with me, and you can do it too. As the first Batgirl, I still made time for my family and friends. So, get out your essay, and I'll go over it with you tonight, since I know that's the only homework you had."

Caitlyn glared in mutiny, but she turned and went to her room, dug around on her desk, and pulled out the freshly typed four page essay before returning. By the time she came back, Dick had already gone back down to the Command Center.

So the two sat together at the dining table as evening turned to night, going over the finer parts of United States history, and how it had been changed with the arrivals of the Super Heros. It was a grueling two hours, and by the end of it, Caitlyn felt like she'd been through the wringer mentally, glad to finally get her grandmother's approval on the state of the essay. She went straight to the fridge with a grumbling stomach, then to the freezer.

"Nana, mind if I nuke something instead of go through the trouble of cooking?" She asked.

"Hey, if it means I don't have to cook, go for it." Barbara smiled from her spot.

Caitlyn then grabbed her favorite microwaveable Alfredo and chicken linguini pasta dish, took it out of its box, poked a few holes in the plastic cling wrap, then put it in the microwave. She was glad that this was one thing that had not changed in the last millennium, microwaveable meals.

After a few minutes, she was sitting back at the dining table with her dinner and a diet Pepsi.

"Long day?" Asked Barbara at the look on her granddaughter's face.

"Yeah. Someone tried to break an inmate in the City Jail out, called herself Catwoman. The inmate didn't get out luckily... but Catwoman got away." She grumbled after taking a large bite of her pasta.

"Catwoman?" Blinked Barbara. "So she's resurfaced, eh?"

"You know about her, Nana?" Caitlyn looked up from her food.

"Oh yes. Sometimes Catwoman has been on our side, other times she's not been so good to have around. It all depends on who it was that took up the mask." Barbara smiled.

"Well, that red hair sticking from underneath the mask looks kind of like Kina's from school." Caitlyn thought for a moment. "But the voice is kind of different."

"Most of the suits used in Gotham City have voice amplification, to make it harder to tell who's really who. Have you figured out who Batman is yet?" Barbara said as an example, and Caitlyn shook her head.

"No. Half the time I can't even really tell." She admitted rather reluctantly.

"It's all part of protecting one's identity. If any of our enemies were to find out who we really were, they would find a way to ruin us, or use it against us somehow." Explained Barbara. "I'm sure Batman will tell you who he is in time. Dick told me you two are now allies. I believe it's a step in the right direction."

Caitlyn stared at her grandmother as though she really wasn't in the mood to be told that right at the moment. She still felt rather negatively towards Batman, she just agreed to be his teammate to shut him up.

Barbara saw the look Caitlyn gave her and gave a small chuckle, figuring out pretty easily what was going through the young woman's mind at the moment.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get used to everything. Including working with Batman." Added Barbara as though in afterthought.

In response, Caitlyn stabbed a bit of chicken with a bit of unnecessary venom with her fork. Barbara chuckled again, stood up, patted her granddaughter on the shoulder, then went down to the Command Center to see how her husband was doing.

"How'd she take it?" Asked Dick, not having to glance back to see who it was that was entering.

"Not well. She's got a lot of attitude." Sighed Barbara.

"Like someone else I know." Smirked Dick.

"I was never quite that bad." Barbara looked at her husband in surprise as she sat down.

"Oh? You don't recall shoving me off Gotham City Banks' rooftop when I was trying to flirt with you back in the day?" He asked with a bit of a glint in his eyes.

"Hmm... That memory escapes me." Barbara said sarcastically. "Wait...I seem to recall you saying something along the lines of 'Hey Babs, what'cha doing up here? Enjoying the sights?' Worst pick up line ever, by the way."

Dick laughed outright at that recollection.

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?" He said with a shrug.

"You always were the shameless type." Sighed Barbara in embarrassment. "So, anything exiting going on that we should know about?" She asked, looking at all the screens on the wall before them.

"Nothing as of late. But I'll let you know. Hey hon, mind getting me a coffee or something?"

"Sure. Then I've got to get back to work. Cate's already done with her schoolwork. I made sure before she did anything else." Barbara pecked her husband on the cheek before leaving him to his observation of Gotham City, even though Bruce probably already had that line of duty taken care of. But it never hurt to have an extra pair of eyes around, she thought as she went upstairs to the kitchen where her granddaughter was still eating her dinner in a rather stiff silence.

"You know, if you're that upset, why don't you take it out on Martial Arts?" Asked Barbara as she set to making her husband a mug of fresh coffee.

"Can't. I stopped that just after I became Batgirl." Retorted an irritated Caitlyn through a mouthful of pasta and chicken. "I wouldn't be able to handle everything I used to do as Batgirl anyways."

Barbara sighed, leaning against the countertop, waiting for the coffee maker to get heated up.

"I was already a black belt anyways." Caitlyn shrugged. "I think I'll go out and wander after I eat." She added. "If anything happens, just tell Grandpa to call me."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm going back to work after I have a chat with Dick. Have fun and stay safe." Barbara hugged her granddaughter from behind before she poured her husband a fresh mug of coffee and left Caitlyn to her thoughts.

"You work too much Nana!" Caitlyn called down the hallway after her grandmother.

"You don't work hard enough." Replied Barbara at the door with a smile on her face, before heading down.

"I'm only sixteen... I should be able to goof around all I want!" Caitlyn grumbled mutinously before grabbing her tote bag and fleeing out the door, unsure if Barbara had heard her or not. At least there was one thing she knew in her life... When to flee a situation before it got explosive.

* * *

><p>"Terry, I've got parent teacher night at Matt's school tonight. I've got a baby sitter for Matt since Mr. Wayne called ahead and said he'd be needing you again."<p>

"Right. Thanks mom."

They were at the dining table that evening having a later meal, Terry and Matt's mother was dressed nicely for the meeting with Matt's teachers, and Matt was looking moody and grumbly about the whole prospect.

"I don't see why I have to have a baby sitter, and Terry gets off scott free!" Matt said through a mouthful of spaghetti.

"Because Terry ISN'T getting off scott free, he's gotta work. And Mr. Wayne can't have the pitter patter of little feet tripping him up everywhere." Snarled Terry.

"Who'm I getting tonight anyways?" Asked Matt.

"Rosalyn." Replied Mrs. McGiness, waiting for the din to start.

And start it did.

"ROSALYN? NOT ROSALYN!" Matt spat out what he'd been chewing on in a mixture of horror and shock.

"Awe, come on, she's not that bad." Said his mother as Terry watched with an amused sort of expression on his face, but for once keeping out of it.

"Please, please, ANYONE else! Can't you call around some more, Mom?" Begged Matt as Terry tried hard not to laugh at his brother's horror.

"No. I spent two weeks on the phone prior to this, Matthew McGiness. Rosalyn was the only one open AND WILLING to baby sit you. Now, I expect you to be on your best behavior... And ANY fowl ups with the baby sitter..." His normally sweet mother had suddenly become quite serious as she drew her finger across her neck with a cat-hissing sort of noise. "You'll be grounded for a week. Got it junior?"

Matt stared at his mother for a long moment before nodding, and that was when Terry finally chuckled. Then he looked at his meal and ate quietly the rest of their dinner.

"Notice how quietly and patiently I'm sitting here eating my meal..." Said Matt, now behaving and no longer throwing a fit.

"You're an inspiration to us all, Matthew." Replied his mother rather sarcastically. Now that she was certain there would be no more fits thrown at the dining table that evening, and her youngest son would cooperate with Rosalyn, the baby sitter, Mrs. McGiness went back to her kind, sweet self. At least she knew how to raise two boys on her own. Even if one of them needed a rather different means of encouragement than the other to behave.

"Good luck, kid." Said Terry when it was time for him to head out to work with Bruce. At least he had some sense of normalcy to his life, with his mother and little brother, he thought as he headed out.

"Thanks." Grumbled Matt, thoroughly depressed and moody at the prospect of a boring and monitored evening.

As Terry left, he saw a car pulling up their driveway, with the driver being Matt's babysitter.

"Is the little hellion inside?" Asked the rather small and tweedy blond girl from Gotham City University- she was going to school to be a professional astronomer.

"Oh yeah, he's braced himself for impact." Terry jerked his thumb back at the house.

"Don't worry, I brought the cattle prod this time!" Rosalyn called as he rounded the corner, he saw her pull out her notebooks and binders. She baby sat whenever she needed a few extra bucks, since she was a college student and living on her own, she didn't mind having something else to do other than homework once in a while. Plus, she was rather fond of having enough to buy a new anime series once in a while. She could hear Matt begging and pleading his mother for another babysitter, and knew it would be one hell of an evening.

"Please, please please mom! Don't leave me with her! She's evil and twisted!" Matt was screaming as she knocked on the door.

"Hi Rosalyn, he was behaving for a little while... hopefully he'll calm down when he gets the hint that there's no other choice." Mrs. McGiness sighed rather embarrassedly as she showed Rosalyn in.

"No worries, so long as I can get my studying done." Smiled Rosalyn.

"I made sure to stock your favorite drinks in the fridge for you, and if you need a snack there's vegetables and fruit." Mrs. McGiness explained as Matt was hiding on the stairwell, listening to every word being said, clinging to the rails as though for dear life.

* * *

><p>Kina yawned and stretched, her brilliant red hair shining in the street lights that lit up Gotham City in the evening. She was hanging out at the favorite spot for most of the Cheerleaders, the Frozen Yogurt shoppe. And since her boyfriend was currently locked up in Jail, she suddenly found that she had lots of free time. She hated being bored, it drove her up the wall. And since her target normally only came out of hiding when there was trouble abroad in the City, she was free until she decided how to bring about Batgirl's demise.<p>

It was odd, to put it bluntly, thinking about killing someone, when she as of yet didn't actually have blood on her hands. But her current employers were right... One Bat keeping tabs on things in Gotham City was hard enough to deal with. Now there were two of them? If a person so much as put one TOE out of line, they were likely to be put in the slammer. There were too many superheroes and super-heroines these days, she felt. She had no regrets about the profession she chose, with her alter ego as Catwoman. She proved before that she could escape from the two Bats when cornered.

As she ate her favorite frozen yogurt- water mellon kiwi with vanilla- a thought crept in to her mind. Catwoman had been a thief in the past. Who said she couldn't be thief and killer?

When she finished, she had a full plan formulated in her mind as to how she would go about capturing and disposing of Batgirl, and getting something nice and shiny from the whole escapade as a bit of a reward for herself.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn was not at the Frozen Yogurt shop, or at the mall. Instead, she was in a flower shop she visited once every couple of weeks. Normally her room was full of flowers and plants, she loved the fragrances they brought with them. But the last few weeks had been so crazy she didn't have time to take care of plants and flowers, and she could tell there was a difference without them.<p>

"Miss Boardener, if you want to see our Rose collections, they're over on the eastern side where the sun is strongest! There's bound to be some that will go well with the Dahlia's you picked out." Molly, the owner of the shop, was always helpful and cheerful about her company in the store. Sometimes she'd even pay Caitlyn a few bucks to watch the place while she had to run an errand or two.

"Ooh! I Love those hanging Fuchsias too!" Caitlyn exclaimed at the sight of purple and red flowers hanging in a basket near her head. Only a few people ever usually saw this side of Caitlyn, and that was her closest family members, and Leia normally. Her father had not only been a cartoonist, but a gardener as well. He had had a reputation in Gotham City for his nature themed art, and made sure to pass that love on to his daughter while she was still young.

The flower shop was like her place to get away from everything once in a while, when things became too much. Molly was like an aunt to her, and offered her a part-time job for when Caitlyn was old enough even.

She was so absorbed in examining the Fuchsias in the hanging pot as she pulled it down she didn't see that she was being watched by someone through the shop's windows until she happened to look up and see Terry, who had an odd expression on his face before he shrugged and moved on when he realized she'd seen him and she'd given him a pissed off look at being found in such a place.

* * *

><p>Kina had once again donned the Catwoman suit. She was standing, cloaked in shadow so that the yellow and red portions of her suit stood out rather vividly, in a crouching position above one of the Gotham City museum's many sky-line windows. There was a diamond down there, but the infra-red detectors in the eyes of her suit showed her where the laser grid was placed around it in a criss-crossing manner.<p>

"As if that's gonna stop me..." She muttered.

From her belt she pulled out a mini laser glass cutter with a suction cup on the handle. After cutting a hole for herself to slip through, she placed the glass window on its neighbor, before sliding in, holding on for a brief second or two as she made sure of her footing and where she'd land, then let go.

She landed cat-like on the floor in a hole of the laser grid, but she was still several feet away from the diamond she was eyeballing. This diamond was the size of a golf ball, and it gleamed even in the dark, with no source of light. Catwoman used some of her aerobics she'd learned from Cheerleading to gracefully jump, spin and crawl her way through the laser grid for a few moments before she reached the diamond and the glass case it was propped up in.

She cut a hole in the case with the soundless glass cutting laser, and reached in to grab the diamond as well as the velvet pillow it had been propped up on.

"Isn't it a little late to be shopping around?" Asked a voice from behind.

Catwoman looked around for the source of the voice and saw it was Batgirl. Apparently she wasn't in the best of moods that night, judging by how she had her arms crossed over her chest and the scowl detected by the narrowed look on her eyes.

"Nope. Night time is when us cats do our best prowling." Catwoman replied with a sneer, putting the diamond in a pouch on her utility belt. "Besides, you're a girl. You'd understand the attractiveness of pretty shinies."

"Yeah, naturally. But I prefer MY Shinies not stolen from a historic museum. And from a boy, too. If you'd return the diamond please? I was trying to live a normal life for a short while before YOU interrupted." Said Batgirl, starting to sound impatient.

"No thank you. It's mine, I rightfully stole it." Catwoman pulled from a different pouch a tiny smoke bomb. It wouldn't set off the alarms, but it should be enough to stall Batgirl or confuse her. She chose not to say anything to Batgirl's second statement. But at least she knew why she'd be rather ticked off at the moment.

The smoke bomb went off, spewing thick black smoke everywhere.

Batgirl, ever so glad that she had a modern suit on, was not effected by the smoke. She could see Catwoman running down the hall, and after a few aerobics of her own, she activated her suit's cloaking device in the hallway, then became invisible to the naked eye as she pursued the thief Catwoman.

"Here, kitty-kitty-kitty!" Batgirl called to taunt the woman as they went in to the dinosaur exhibit.

"Kitty doesn't wanna play though!" Catwoman hissed back, feeling the trickling of irritation on the back of her neck as Batgirl taunted her.

Batgirl stood lightly on the head of the tyrannosaurus display in the center of the exhibit, glad it was sturdier than it looked, as Catwoman stared wildly around before she deactivated the cloaking device.

Catwoman spotted Batgirl just before she jumped down from the highest point of the Tyrannosaurus display, her hands raised ready to strike as she reached her target. Batgirl's fists hit Catwoman on the head, before she kneed the thief right in the stomach.

"That's not fighting fair!" Catwoman growled, sending four Cat-a-rangs at Batgirl, who dodged by the use of cartwheels.

"And neither is that..." Batgirl snapped, flinging four of her own bat-a-rangs at the ones that pursued her. She was also glad that her weapons came right from the suit she wore, so that meant fewer things that she had to carry.

"Smack down in the museum is it?" Came Batman's voice from one of the windows. He'd been watching for a few minutes as Batgirl and Catwoman duked it out over the diamond she'd stolen. But something seemed fishy about all this to Batman, so he had hung back for a moment while he considered everything.

"About time you got here!" Snapped Batgirl as she slid around a Triceratops limb when Catwoman's golf-ball sized bomb went off underneath the rib cage of the dinosaur.

"So much for a thanks for turning up..." Muttered Batman. Apparently she still needed improvement with her teamwork ethics.

Batgirl was exceedingly grateful that the dinosaur was already long dead, otherwise there would have been bits of flesh and blood, apart from the bones and fragments that went flying everywhere.

Batman leapt from the window he'd been crouching at, and wound up in front of Catwoman, already having a pretty good idea what her initial goal with all this was. Before he landed, he sent his legs at Catwoman's face, which would normally send her flying backwards in to the Pteranodon display right behind her.

A chain came flying in his direction, and when he saw the spikes on the edge, he had to duck. When he saw the chain crash in to the leg of the Tyrannosaurus, he was glad that he had fast reflexes. As the ball at the end of the chain sliced through the bone.

"So that chain isn't just for decoration..." Muttered Batman, realizing it was one of the chains that hung from Catwoman's ears on her mask.

As Batgirl shoved the Triceratops bones off her, she looked up. There was a low rumbling, as the largest of the dinosaur exhibits began to tremble.

"Oh-" Catwoman mumbled.

"Crap." Batgirl finished that train of thought.

The chain that Catwoman had been using clipped back to the top of her right ear on her mask as she high-tailed it from the.

"Come on!" Batman shouted at Batgirl as the Tyrannosaurus began to collapse on itself, and museum alarms were blaring. He grabbed her arm, since she looked like she was going to chase after Catwoman instead of getting the hell out of that building.

"Hey!" Batgirl shouted, but for once he didn't pay any attention as he crashed through a window when the bones shattered in every direction, starting a domino effect with the other nearby exhibits. The sound was deafening as Batman lead Batgirl away to safety.

* * *

><p><em>Well, that plan was an utter disaster<em>... Catwoman frowned. _But at least I managed to get rid of one of my least favorite exhibits! _She paused, thinking about the now utterly ruined dinosaur exhibit in the museum that the Police would be coming upon, and reached for the pouch. _They didn't even try and get this back from me... _She looked at the priceless golf ball sized, pure diamond. That troubled her as she put it back in to her pouch. She'd seen the direction Batman dragged Batgirl off in, and knew which direction NOT to go in. Did Batman know she was trying to kill Batgirl? She would have to be more careful than this obvious attempt in the future.

* * *

><p>Only when he was certain they were well away from the Museum, Catwoman and the Police did Batman let Batgirl go. Night had really fallen by now, so the city was lit by the many lights and buildings, casting a strange but consistent yellow-orange glow around them.<p>

"You could at LEAST be a little more grateful, you know." He shot at her finally after a long silence.

"What?" She had not expected that from him of all people.

"Ever since we met you've been nothing but an ungrateful, moody brat. If we're going to be working together, you could AT LEAST be friendlier. All I've ever been is nice and helpful to you. I like you, but how can we be friends and team-mates if you keep spurning me every time I turn up to save your ungrateful ass?" He asked after calming down a little. He went on before she could interrupt. He had the feeling the moment he let her say something, it would turn in to a shouting match. "I've saved some temperamental people before, but you and that Caitlyn Boardener top that list. Next time Catwoman's involved in a caper, be more careful. In case you didn't notice, she was trying to kill you. There's a death sentence in your head by the guys who normally are in league with Shape Shifter because you put him in prison."

Batgirl remained silent for a time. Not sure how to take this, but she nodded in the end. She supposed he had a point.

"Good." Batman nodded, deciding not to press the issue any farther. At least now she knew now there was a hit out on her head. "I'd better get going. I'll see you around." He gave a casual wave before leaving her be.

"He is right you know." Came Dick's voice over the intercom in Batgirl's ears.

"Oh hush." She retorted before turning in the opposite direction Batman had just gone.


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: **

**The Nature of Things Isn't so Simple**

Caitlyn hardly felt as though she'd gained the balance she'd been seeking in her life since she became Batgirl. She was currently in her bedroom trying to do her homework, but she wasn't really focussed on it. Her room was now full of the plants and flowers she'd picked out from the flower shop before she was called in to Batgirl duty three nights before, and smelled of roses, lavender and a hint of lilac. After putting her pen down, she decided to take a break.

She grabbed her iPod, her still nearly full bottle of ice cold diet pepsi, then went to the bedroom's open window. She poked her head out briefly before putting her books, pen, eraser and pencil in her tote bag, as well as the iPod and headphones. Privately thanking her skills gained from being Batgirl, she flipped herself up by grabbing hold of the window, and lightly landed on the rooftop. After digging for her favorite purple sunglasses, putting on her headphones to maximum volume with loud guitar music blaring in her ears. It was a bad habit, she knew, but it helped her focus on what needed to be done as she spread out her books, making sure that if a gust of wind were to blow through, it wouldn't send her homework flying.

Caitlyn was busy working late in to the afternoon on her homework, laying on the rooftop on her stomach as her music blared in her ears while her diet pepsi slowly became depleted in its bottle.

She was jiggling her foot to the beat of the tune she was listening to by the time Barbara had come up the path to the home. Barbara happened to be looking up when she saw her granddaughter perched on the rooftop with headphones blaring, homework spread out.

"Are you aware that our granddaughter thinks she's part cat now?" Barbara asked her husband as she put her purse on a spot on the countertop in the kitchen.

"No. I thought she was doing her homework in her room." Dick blinked.

"She's doing her homework, yes... But apparently Cate needed a change in scenery."

"Well, so long as her homework's getting done, right?" Asked Dick with a shrug. "I mean, even I can't cage up a bird forever and expect her sanity to stay in one piece."

"I seem to recall, you barely being able to stay put at that age." Smiled Barbara.

"Well, when one was raised in the circus-"

Caitlyn looked down at her report, finally satisfied with how it read in her mind as she sat up, pulling out her now silent headphones from her ears- the battery was dead about an hour ago, she just kept the headphones in out of habit.

"Hey, kid! Better get down here! Babs' got dinner ready!" Dick was calling from the sidewalk that led up to their home's entrance.

"Right! Coming!" She called back, putting her papers in the file folders, then in to her tote bag. Her diet pepsi was now completely empty. Then she jumped down, once she was sure she had everything, and landed in front of her grandfather down below.

"You know, most guardians or parents would ground their kids for life if they saw them on the roof like that." Said Dick, a glint of warning in his eyes, and Caitlyn braced for impact. "But, considering you're my granddaughter, it wouldn't do to discipline you when you've inherited so much of my particular energies." He smiled, patting her on the shoulders as he led her back inside. "So long as you got your homework done?"

"Yeah, Nana helped me with my essay yesterday, and I got my astronomy report done just now. I think I'm finally getting caught up. If only school didn't have to start on Monday." Caitlyn showed him the file with her report in it as they went in to the home.

"Good kid." Nodded Dick.

"Go wash up, dinner's ready." Called Barbara from the kitchen.

"Great! What are we having?" Asked Caitlyn as she set her tote bag in her room before going to the bathroom to wash up her hands for dinner.

"Spaghetti with deli fresh French Garlic Bread." Said Barbara, knowing it was one of her granddaughter's favorite things.

"You got the cheese out already, Nana?" Asked Caitlyn, hurrying back to the dining table as Dick put on the news on the television in the living room for them to listen to.

"Naturally." Barbara pointed at the small bowl of mozzarella next to Caitlyn's plate.

Well, maybe there was one sense of normalcy back in her life after all, thought Caitlyn as she sat down and the five o'clock news tune heralded the evening. Family meals were the same, even if they were a tad bit different with a lacking of her parents at the table. But privately, she had always preferred her grandmother's cooking to her mother Claire's.

"Say, Nana, I've been wondering, how did you and Mom handle being Batgirl?" Caitlyn asked.

Barbara looked up in surprise at the question.

"Things getting a little crazy lately or something?" She asked as she cut up her pasta, while Dick piled a lot of pepper on to his sauce.

"I was just curious... I wondered why Mom never told me about her life as Batgirl. I'm not sure if I believe her tale of running in to her father at the mall and it being love at first sight either." She said.

There was a pause while Barbara considered what to tell her. That's what Claire had told her daughter? Barbara knew she'd not wanted the same kind of life for Caitlyn that she and Claire shared, but it was unavoidable in this family.

"Well, technically, Jonathan was her best friend since childhood. Claire was often teased and bullied by the other kids because of her red hair and freckles. It led to a very lonely childhood until Jonathan moved next door. The two hit it off right off the bat, I never saw a closer pair of friends! They told each other everything, and when things got to be too much for Claire, and I wasn't around to confide in, she'd tell Jon. There was one day, when she was about your age, that she found the key to the Command Center, and went in despite my telling her not to. That's when she discovered who I was... Not only Batgirl, but Oracle. Seeing as how her school life was taking a turn for the worse, and she'd already dropped out if not for Jon, and her parents not letting her, after some consideration, I decided that her punishment for not listening to me and venturing down in to the Command Center was to be the newest Batgirl. I thought it would teach her responsibility, among other things, and help her get through the last few years of school before she could take up the duty full time." She paused.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Asked Caitlyn, having been listening to her grandmother's tale with her full attention, apart from eating.

"Partially. The only person to know about who she was apart from myself and Dick was Jon. She had to tell him everything, and he accepted her as she was. He helped stop the bullying, coming from a wealthy and well known family in Jump City, and he was amazingly good at keeping secrets. He never breathed a word, as far as we're aware, about the family legacy. While Jon never wanted any part in the super hero life, he had no problems depicting the super heros of the day in his art. Including Batgirl. When she graduated school, she became Batgirl full time."

"Wow... so Mom only found out because she decided to get in to mischief?" Blinked Caitlyn, she'd always viewed her mother as a strict follower of rules and one who abhorred trouble makers in the first place.

"I figured it might be easier for you to take in if I willingly showed you and handed the Bat-suit over to you when the time was right." Nodded Barbara. "It might go over better than with your mom, I thought. Claire wasn't so easy to believing me, until I pulled out said suit. But in the end, she felt not only was this a way for her to escape from the life she had at school, but a way to make the world a better place. She spent a lot of her time focussing on Gotham City when she wasn't with Jon or her parents. I was surprised at how quick YOU were to accept the responsibility. I suppose having an over- developed sense of vengeance can help sometimes though."

Caitlyn gave a nervous smile at that last comment, but at least she knew a little bit more about her parents now. Though she'd preferred to have the story explained BY her mother, but she didn't have any choice. She wondered for a moment what it had to be like, being bullied and teased so badly that half the time, one would come home crying and hating life. She was glad she didn't have to deal with that these days. She often threw herself in to cheerleading and school projects and did her best so that none of the kids in her school would have an excuse to tease or bully her. She was proficient enough in martial arts that if anyone tried something with her, either as Batgirl or just as plain old Caitlyn, she'd be able to defend herself.

Her phone was suddenly ringing from her bedroom, and she looked pleadingly at her grandparents, who both nodded as though saying 'well, if you must answer it, but hurry back'.

Caitlyn tore from the table, dug to the bottom of her tote bag, and pulled out her phone.

"Leia! What's up?" She said at once, knowing that only under certain circumstances would Leia call at the dinner hour.

"CAITLYN! There's a concert in town this weekend!" Leia shouted excitedly. "Guess who's performing?"

There was that moment of dawning comprehension as Caitlyn's eyes went wide. There was only one band that the two of them ever wanted to see regularly when they were in Gotham City, known as the Red Stars.

"No way! PLEASE tell me you got tickets?" Asked Caitlyn.

"Naturally! PLEASE tell me YOU'RE caught up enough in your homework so we can hang out this weekend?" Pleaded Leia.

"I just finished that report! Hold on, I'll ask if I can go!" And Caitlyn hurried to the kitchen. "Nana, can I go to the Red Stars concert this weekend? Leia already got tickets!"

"Is it on the same night as your work with Grandpa?" Asked Barbara with suspiciously narrowed eyes.

"It's Sunday afternoon!" Leia shouted on the phone, and thus in Caitlyn's right ear causing Caitlyn to wince.

"Let me see your report after dinner, and the rest of your homework, then you can go." Barbara nodded.

"YAY!" Caitlyn couldn't resist as she shouted her excitement. For once, things were going to go perfectly this weekend. She was going to skip out on that ridiculous school dance on Saturday, and Sunday she was getting to go to the concert of a lifetime. The Red Stars was a group of rock and jazz performers that started out in Gotham City in the first place, but toured the country then the world. Gotham had been their starting point on their tour, and was now the ending point. They were also to be rumored to be supporting Wayne Enterprises by using all donations from the performances as a way to help expand the businesses, as well as the funding for an expansion of the City Jail.

Dick chuckled, it had been a while since he'd seen his granddaughter this excited, and more like herself since her parent's murders.

She had a hurried chat with Leia about where to meet and what to bring and wear, then went back to her meal.

"Now if only school would stay out forever." Caitlyn said as she helped her grandmother with the dishes after dinner was done and Dick had gone back down to the Command Center below the house.

While Caitlyn had changed the subject from her mother to more present matters, her mind still dwelt on what that must have been like for Claire, just her age, after a bad day in school of being bullied and teased. As Caitlyn got in to the lavender scented bath tub after dinner, she could see a red haired, freckle faced version of herself unlocking the door she'd so often dreamed about venturing in to as a kid, but never dared until now. _The door was sliding open, flooding the room below in light. Claire would have been able to see all the screens and controls, and entrances all around placed strategically to provide a swift entrance and exit for Nightwing, with her mother having been Oracle at the time providing the assistance that he needed. At least, until Claire was startled out of her marveling of what this room could possibly be, as Barbara came hobbling after her daughter on her walking cane, bellowing herself hoarse at the fact that Claire had somehow found the key and got in when she'd been strictly told not to._ Caitlyn understood though, to a certain extent, the desire to find out something that was not rightfully yours to find out. The temptation was just too great to ignore.

Caitlyn sighed and sunk her head below the water as her thoughts of the upcoming Cheerleader's selection at school was going to occur this coming week. It was supposed to happen this week, but certain events deemed Gotham City High without power and needing a new power line to the building. Then the superintendent decided it was also time for the installation of new security cameras around the building and football field behind it as well.

* * *

><p>The plan was so far going off without a hitch. Catwoman's form could be seen off and on in the shadows of the Gotham City Prison center. She crouched in the shadows as a guard walked by before moving on. She could have easily killed the man... Prison Guards were technically weaker than her kind. It would have been so easy...<p>

But no. She was on a mission. The first time she was here was just to get to know the place. Now that James was in solitary confinement, she knew just where to go. She landed in front of the steel iron door that she'd been looking for, and pulled out from her utility belt a miniature welder.

From within the solitary confinement, James heard the sound of fire on metal, then a soft CLUNK. He grinned as the door opened, revealing his friend, Catwoman, was back to let him out for real this time.

Before he could say anything, she put her finger to her lips with a 'shh'. Because in all realities, they weren't out of the woods yet. But she knew how to get out without being detected.

He nodded, transforming in to a fly that hovered around her before she turned and started climbing the walls. He had not been able to transform in the cell because it had some kind of technology that prevented him from using his shape-shifting abilities that he was so fond of to fool any guards as he tried to get out before.

Five minutes later, alarms were blaring about the escaped prisoner. Catwoman activated her new cloaking device, and vanished to the naked eye. Luckily in his form, James could still sense where she was, and kept on following her as wave after wave of armed guards flew by, pulling out their laser guns.

Catwoman grinned at the fools. The police were honestly too complacent these days. Then again, if the policemen and woman actually did their jobs in Gotham City, there would be no need for Batman or Batgirl. She knew that if she attacked any of them, it would spoil the whole point of her mission. Every now and again, she checked to make sure the fly was still following her before continuing on a different level.

Only when they were two buildings away from the Jail center, and well hidden in the shadows, did James transform back in to his human self.

"Thanks for busting me out of that hell hole." He said as he stretched, still in his black and white striped Jail uniform. "Anything I can do for you carrot head?" He asked.

Next thing he knew, he'd been hit upside the head and was seeing stars.

"One- NEVER comment on my hair. I'm rather fond of it, thank you. And two... yes, actually... There is a job that needs to be done. And only you can do it..."

James listened as he rubbed his now throbbing head, making a mental note that this was one chick never to piss off.

* * *

><p>The atmosphere around the Gotham City Arena couldn't have been more enthusiastic or full of anticipation that weekend leading up to the Red Stars' arrival and performance on Sunday afternoon. The director of the event was busy barking out orders to everyone near her.<p>

"NO!" Screeched the tall, thin blond woman with a heavy tan. "The rafter needs to be up higher! And what about the lights? Are those set up yet?"

"Getting there ma'am! We just have a few more!" Called the technician from the stage.

Even though the blond woman cursed and swore her way through the day, things didn't move any faster, and it frustrated her beyond belief. The Red Stars were one of the biggest band names of the day, and things had to be perfect.

"Would you like some coffee madam?" Asked one of her subordinates.

Even though she was bossy and used fowl language, the people and workers still respected her because of her contributions to the city. She was known to be a fierce business woman, but also a devoted wife and mother. She had the talent of being able to separate work from home life, as well as give credit where it was deserved.

"Hm? Oh yes. Can you make it a triple shot, please Eric? Thanks." She paused for a moment, to look at everything that had been achieved thus far.

At half past three, she called a meeting as she was drinking her coffee brought by her subordinate worker.

"Well, tomorrow's the big day folks! The band will be getting here at seven P.M. tonight to rehearse and get used to the stage before the performance, and remember, there's going to be the after party and a small group of kids who won the backstage tickets. I know you've all been busting your asses this last week, so we can all give each other a pat on the back and sleep well tonight. We got done with five hours to spare! All that's needed is a few adjustments on the sound stage, and you can all go home for the night!" She said to much cheering and applause. "Tomorrow's gonna be a hell of a day, and we'll need our rest to make sure it goes off without a hitch."

* * *

><p>James watched the congratulatory speech from the ceiling. He could see the woman he'd been told to impersonate, and getting to her would be no problem. She only seemed to have one real confidant, and he wasn't even a fighter. Fooling him should be easy enough, at least until his job was done.<p>

* * *

><p>Leia felt rather pleased with herself. She had so far managed to keep the real surprise a secret from Caitlyn, and the girl's grandparents even agreed to let her join in on the fun Sunday! Well, so long as her homework was done. So she was making sure not to be a distraction for Caitlyn and not sending her a bazillion text messages that afternoon and evening. Instead, she was getting ready for the dance on Saturday. She was washing her shoulder length blond hair at the moment, her head hanging over the side of the bathtub as the news was blaring from her television in the bedroom.<p>

"Some trouble today at Gotham City Jail Center, as known criminal James Roth escaped with the help of an outsider-" The reporter was saying.

"James? That guy who used to be our classmate?" Melody asked, poking her head from her bedroom as the news reached her ears.

"Turn it up, will you sis? My hands are all soapy." Leia nodded, and Melody did as she was asked. She already washed her hair, and had currently been towel drying it with a green towel. "Thanks." Leia had an orange towel sitting and waiting for her to use on the sink nearby.

* * *

><p>Bruce was watching the news as well that afternoon as Terry came in to the Batcave with his heart medicine.<p>

"Looks like you're gonna have a full weekend after all." He told the young man as the report covered the criminal history of James Roth. "No doubt Shape-shifter will be targeting the concert. I've already got it arranged for you to have backstage access."

"Great. Always wanted to see what that place looked like behind the scenes." Said Terry as he made sure Bruce took his medicine.

It was hard for Bruce to tell if he was being sarcastic or not this time.

"There's going to be two others there too, so you'll have to behave yourself and not start attacking people right off the bat." Bruce chose to ignore the veiled sarcasm.

"Who else is going to be there?" Asked Terry.

"Caitlyn and her friend." Said Bruce rather simply, with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Great. A whole afternoon with madams' hyper-active and her friend, the smart-ass." Said Terry, scratching the back of his head.

"What's the matter? I thought you liked them."

"Would YOU be too fond of being around women who can damage your ego with just a few well chosen words?" Replied Terry.

"Well, sometimes that's good for someone your age." Grinned Bruce.

"R-i-ight." Terry shook his head as Ace followed him around. "Well, I'd better be heading back home. Mom's ordered a family evening tonight. Let me know if you need anything else."

"Tell her I said hi." Said Bruce as Terry left, and he returned to his duty of watching Gotham City through the computer screens in the Batcave.

Matt was watching cartoons by the time his older brother came home.

"Hey bro! Why can't I go with you to that concert on Sunday?" Matt said the moment Terry came through the door.

"Huh?" Blinked Terry at being bombarded.

"Mr. Wayne called ahead earlier to let me know about his little treat for you helping him out so much lately. And SOMEONE happened to over hear it." Mrs. Guiness said. "I've told you before Matt, that concert is for people who are sixteen and older, not little kids like you."

"But MOM, I behaved with the babysitter didn't I?" Matt whined as he tried pulling his brother's arm.

"Yes, and you already got your treat for your good behavior." Replied his mother. "I will NOT have my youngest kid going deaf before he reaches puberty. Terry's earned this little break."

_Break...right... _Thought Terry, resisting the urge to correct his mother, and roll his eyes with great difficulty.

"So, what'd you get for your good behavior the other night?" Terry decided to change the subject before a shouting match was started again.

"Mom got me a new video game! Come on!" Matt said at once.

And Terry allowed himself to be dragged to the living room by his younger brother.

"See?" Matt held up the video game case, and Terry blinked.

"That new Batman game?" It seemed to Terry that he couldn't escape from Batman's shadow wherever he went, even in his own home.

"Come on! Let's play it while Mom's cooking dinner! You be the Dark Knight, I'll be the Boy Wonder!" Matt said.

There was such a pleading tone in his voice, and he even pulled out the "Bambi" begging eyes trick.

"Have fun boys." Said their mother as she went in to the kitchen.

"Ugh, fine." Sighed Terry in defeat. Once his mother took that attitude, he knew he had no choice but to play along. He sometimes envied people who were single children in their family.

* * *

><p>The excitement over the next couple of days' events could practically be felt among most teenagers who went to Gotham City High on Saturday morning. Caitlyn woke with a rather strong feeling of gloom that morning, however. As with most school dances, she'd be left home and bored. Well, maybe not bored. She had no idea what kind of training her Grandfather was planning for her that evening. But in her depression, she even went as far as turning off her cell phone that morning while she bathed in her favorite lavender scents.<p>

Everyone else in her class was getting ready for the big dance that night, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She danced enough in the cheerleading squad as it was. Though for the last several weeks, it felt like she was doing more dancing with people who'd rather avoid the justice system than in her cheerleading squad.

At least she had something fun to look forward to on Sunday. When she dressed, it was in to a purple and black layered shirt, the bottom being a black sleeve less shirt, the top being a dark purple tank top. The black shirt had a square neck, the purple tank top had a v-neck, while her pants were more like black slacks. Her socks were purple and black horizontal stripes, and soft and fuzzy while for her hair that day, she decided on something different, putting it back in a purple scrunchy. The back of her purple tank top had a pattern of white mini angel wings sewn in to it that she was rather fond of. And around her waist, she put on a black belt.

"Going somewhere?" Asked Barbara when Caitlyn came out.

"Just thought I'd wander town a bit after breakfast." Shrugged Caitlyn in response as she started helping out in the kitchen.

"Make sure you're back in time for training this evening." Said Dick from the table as he drank his morning coffee.

"No worries. And I'll stay out of trouble, and not talk to strangers." She stuck her tongue out at her grandfather, who chuckled at the sarcasm.

After she put on her tennis shoes and tote bag, she was about at the door.

"Cate!" Barbara called. "Don't forget your cell phone, it's still on the table!"

"Right, thanks Nana!" Caitlyn hurried over, gave both her grandparents hugs- who were still enjoying their coffee and the morning newspapers- then ran out the door to enjoy the morning before her afternoon was all tied up by the training and she found out she forgot something else. She at least was planning on having fun that morning.

She walked down the streets with a bit of a spring in her step as she was pretty cheerful that morning, despite not going to the school dance that evening, which judging by the air of anticipation by the classmates she went by, was still going on despite the renovations that were wrapping up in Gotham City High. She found herself at the mall in the newly opened music store after it had nearly been demolished a couple of weeks ago, digging through CDs and finding her favorite groups to spend her allowance on.

* * *

><p>The Dee twin girls had it all planned out. They were both wearing their blond wigs, and wearing identical black outfits with belts around their waists. Their boots were knee length as usual, but sleek, black leather instead of crimson.<p>

"If this one doesn't make daddy proud, I dunno what will." Said Sharon as she checked one of the deck of knife lined cards she was packing.

"Daddy and Momma can be impossible sometimes." Nodded Sheryl.


	6. Chapter 5

**Note from the author: **Please keep in mind that the song written in this chapter isn't plagiarized from anyone, I wrote it myself so no stealing! Surprisingly, it helped me out in getting past my writer's block in this chapter. While this chapter may not be as long as the others, it is a crucial point in Batgirl Beyond: Act Two.

**Dedications: **this chapter is dedicated to my long time sister-friend, signsoflifestirring. As well as Sokai. Both of whom helped me out more than I can say in my stories. These two and the internet are usually all I need to get past blocks in my creativity! Thanks guys!

**Chapter Five: **

**Being There **

She sometimes wondered if she was a bother to people, with her behavior and the double life she was leading. She knew she wasn't the nicest of girls when rescued, but that was still because she wasn't sure who she could trust in this new life. The Dee twins she'd once trusted and had once been on the same cheerleader's troupe she'd been, then there was Knave, their older brother, who ordered the death of her parents. And even Kina had disappeared in the last few days. Her parent's deaths affected Caitlyn more than she let on, she still had nightmares, still woke up in the sweats.

It was the first time she let herself stop and think since she became Batgirl. She was at a bridge that went over a river which flowed through Gotham City. She had her tote bag hanging on her shoulders, and her cell phone on silent as she looked at the city scape all around her. She still had a few hours before she had to go in for training, and with Leia getting ready for the school dance that evening, she didn't have anyone to hang out with that morning. She stretched, feeling her bones snapping in the process, in a good way.

* * *

><p>To distract herself from getting too depressed, Leia turned on her iHome Sterio, which was connected right to her iPod, with some of her favorite songs, one of which would be played by the Red Stars tomorrow at the concert-<p>

"_What are you doing now, _

_Just looking out that window so dreamily? _

_Out to the never ending heavens, _

_the wind blowing through your hair? _

_Could you possibly be thinking about_

_What fate has in store for you now,_

_With just the two of us? _

_No worries, that far away dawn will soon be here._

_No worries, that far away hope will get here then. _

_Eternally, we circle through the path of life,_

_Never knowing or thinking._

_How can we learn to live on like this,_

_When we've never learned from our mistakes? _

_What are you doing now, _

_Smiling so serenely my princess?_

_Is there something you see in the heavens that I dare not?_

_As you wish upon that shooting star,_

_Could you possibly be dreaming of the future,_

_What splendors fate has in store for you now, _

_With just the two of us? _

_No worries, that far away dawn will soon be here._

_No worries, that far away hope will get here then with the rising sun. _

_Can you see now, my princess,_

_What hopes and dreams we can make,_

_Is there nothing else that you would wish for now,_

_upon that single star in the sky,_

_just the two of us staring out this window _

_thinking about what lies beyond the heavens..." _

Leia loved their songs along this manner. It got her thinking of romance and dreams of the future. Even though most of their lyrics were accompanied by guitar and drums, there was also a piano and violin in the mix.

"Playing that one again, eh?" Melody had come in to borrow some of her sisters' perfume.

"Yeah, it's one of the hits that made them famous, but it's also beautiful if you pay attention to the lyrics." Nodded Leia.

"Well, at least you and Cate are getting to see them finally. I can stop hearing you going on and on about how much you wished you could see them..." Melody rolled her eyes as she looked over her sister's perfumes before picking out one of an Wild Orchid variety. "You guys drove me nuts staying up talking all night like that back then."

"Watch it, or we'll keep you up all night AFTER the concert too." Snarled Leia. "And I won't let you use my perfume anymore either!" She said despite the feeling of distance she got from Caitlyn these days, she was still going to fight as hard as she could to keep their friendship held together.

Melody raised a golden brow at her sister but shrugged nonetheless.

* * *

><p>Terry was glad to have the morning off, but he found himself bored and wandering aimlessly through town. Most of his buddies that he'd normally hang out with were busy at home that day. So it came as a surprise when he bumped in to someone walking rather distracted looking on a bridge.<p>

"Hey, how's it going Caitlyn?" He asked when she jumped back.

Her usual reaction would be to glare at him, but the talking to in the form of Batgirl she got from Batman the other night got her thinking more about her attitude towards the few people who were willing to help her.

"Been better." She shrugged, deciding to forgo the normal nastiness, which Terry was greatful for.

"Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for that school event like every other girl in town right now?" He asked.

"Obviously I've got other plans. Grandpa wants me to help out at the house tonight." She replied rather annoyed sounding.

Terry scratched the back of his head, wondering how it was possible someone could go from friendly to moody so quickly.

"Ah, sounds like a whirlwind of fun and joy." He decided to go with the safest option he had with her, since he wasn't sure what would set her off these days.

"Well, better than standing against a wall for a whole evening being completely bored and turning down all the football players who think they can have a dance with you just for being a cheerleader." She shrugged. She heard a faint ringing coming from her tote bag. "Yeah Grandpa? All right all right, I'm coming..." She grumbled as she hung up. "Speak of the devil... Well, see you round Terry." She waved as she walked away without another word.

"Hi goodbye, I guess." He said when she walked away, wondering if even calm, cool Dick Grayson got protective of his granddaughter after what happened to his daughter and son-in-law. Well, maybe Caitlyn wasn't so bad, at least when she wasn't acting like she was possessed by a python snake or something. He wondered for a moment if she knew just how cool her grandfather was, having been the original Robin, then Nightwing. Then again, it wasn't any of his business really. He shrugged mentally and continued on his way.

* * *

><p>"Ok, I'm here." Caitlyn frowned, dumping her tote bag in her room before grabbing her Batgirl suit.<p>

"Good. Get changed. I've got company for you down in the command center." Dick said, and she nodded.

A few moments later, Batgirl walked out of Caitlyn's bedroom and she followed Dick down to the vast room below the house.

"Now, before we begin, I want to explain a few things." Dick said as they walked down the stairs. "I've decided to up the anti on your training, and unless there's an emergency, or a meal time break, I don't want any distractions." He added as she closed the door. The lights were all off in the command center except for the flickering light from the computers at the far end. "Diana, you still here? Sorry about taking so long."

"No worries, Dick." Diana said, turning on the lights, and Caitlyn felt her eyes go wide. "So this is the granddaughter of the famous Nightwing?"

"Dude... You brought Wonder Woman to help train me?" She asked.

"Well, seeing as your grandmother and I are too old for this kind of thing now, and your mother is...no longer present, I had limited options." Dick replied.

"I won't be going easy on you just because you're Dick Grayson's grandchild, though." Diana nodded.

"Just try not to leave any permanent damage is all I ask, Diana." Dick said as he sat down in his chair.

Caitlyn braced herself for what was coming, this woman wasn't known as Wonder Woman for nothing. She knew Wonder Woman's reputation in the Justice League rather well even if she acted like she rarely paid any attention.

"The enemies and various bad guys you'll be facing won't always be easily tricked by some gimmick or taunt. So I called on the help of some old friends from back in the day." Explained Dick once he sat down.

"No offense, Wonder Woman... but if you're as old as they say, why don't you look it?" Asked Batgirl, unable to restrain herself from asking that question, as Wonder Woman's hair was still jet black, and she didn't look a day beyond twenty.

"Well, that's one of the perks of being an Amazon Princess... Now, shall we get started?" Was Diana's response.

"Oh... one more thing... If you can survive tonight, you're free to go to that Red Stars concert tomorrow." Added Dick as though in afterthought.

Batgirl stared.

"I thought you said I could go anyways!" Batgirl half-shouted in spite of being in the presence of one of the most famous of Super Heroes of all time. All Dick did in response was shrug with a cocky smile.

_So this is the kind of training Granpa was talking about..._Thought Batgirl with narrowed eyes.

There was a pause between Diana, and Batgirl.

"Well, what've you got to show me? I want you to make the first move." Said Diana, her hands on her hips.

Batgirl stared, not sure to take her seriously or not. Wondering how she should attack someone like Wonder Woman, having never been up against anyone more powerful than the Joker's kids or Catwoman. She understood she was lacking in fighting skills... And that was probably why her grandfather called upon someone like Wonder Woman, to give her the experience she needed when out in the real world.

Barbara had a long day at work, so it was no surprise she was known as a crabby old woman by the end of her day in the office. She heard what sounded like a fight going on below her house, and went down with two cups of coffee and a soda for Caitlyn to find out what was happening.

"Wonder Woman?" Blinked Barbara as Wonder Woman sent her granddaughter flying backwards with a single hit. "Don't you think that's a bit extreme?"

"Not really. We faced much worse than Diana, remember?" Asked Dick as he took his mug of coffee.

"So how's she doing?" Asked Barbara, leaning against the computer console.

"Batgirl, or Wonder Woman?"

"Batgirl."

"Not too great. But considering this is her first time up against a true super being, I'm not all surprised." Shrugged Dick.

"Yeah... Getting my ass kicked being not too great?" Asked Batgirl, clearly in a bad mood that rivaled Wonder Woman when she was pissed off.

BAM.

Batgirl had been struck right in the face.

"Watch your language in front of me, kid." Snarled Wonder Woman.

Batgirl was getting frustrated even while she was dazed at the moment. She felt like she hadn't been able to get in a single hit, even with her amplified strength in the Bat suit.

_Wait a second..._ She thought. There was a way to defeat every person she came across, even Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman deflected any blow from the Bat-a-rangs with her bracers, and she was so strong any head on attack was useless. Batgirl activated her cloaking device. She knew she wasn't strong enough yet to beat Wonder Woman with physical strength. But maybe a little strategy was what was needed here.

Wonder Woman blinked when the much younger Batgirl apparently vanished before her eyes. This girl had potential if she wasn't just going for brawn the whole time. But she knew what to look for, Diana remembered this feature on Bruce's suit before he retired, and looked for that flicker when Batgirl moved...

* * *

><p>While Batgirl was getting her ass kicked by Wonder Woman, Leia was getting the final preparations for the school dance in just forty five minutes. Time had really gone by that day, too quickly for her taste. So she put on her yellow and orange dress with the frills, then her bits of jewelry, and her favorite brand of perfume. This brand was owned by a famous singer who'd sung the tune from the movie about the ship hit by an ice berg.<p>

"You ready sis?" Melody had come out of her room in to the hallway, wearing a periwinkle blue , knee length dress with a v-neck, and a flower pattern all over.

"Yep. Just finishing."

"Good. Mom's got the car ready to take us."

"What about your date, isn't he coming to pick you up?"

"Nope, he's meeting me there though."

* * *

><p>Bruce sat in the Batcave monitoring the city, more particularly the school where nearly every teen in Gotham was currently enjoying their long awaited dance.<p>

"Aren't you going to that party?" He asked the person who was walking in with his heart medicine.

"Nah. It's not really my thing, at least if I haven't got a date to go with." Replied Terry.

"I see..." Bruce raised an eyebrow at Terry.

"What?"

"So you'll go if you had a girl hanging on your arm, but you won't go even for the heck of it?" Smirked Bruce.

"Pretty much." Shrugged Terry.

"Kids these days." Mumbled Bruce.

"What'd I say now?" Sighed Terry.

"When I was your age, I'd be going to every dance in town that I could, date or not." Bruce neglected to mention that more than half those dances and parties were interrupted by the Joker, or Two Face. Or even the Penguin.

"Right. I thought you said being around women wasn't one of your specialties." Terry remembered what Bruce had told him when he asked how to get Caitlyn to trust him as Batman.

"And you need to stop being so gullible." Chuckled Bruce, earning a 'you're unbelievable' expression from Terry.

* * *

><p>The Dees were already at the school dance, wearing their blond wigs and black dresses, standing in a far corner of the gym where the party was being held. Their former classmates were arriving, The only thing that would get people to recognize them would be if they spoke, or if their wigs fell off.<p>

They saw their target enter fifteen minutes before lockdown, when the school would be closing its doors. It wasn't only them in this gym stationed to attack. In case either or both of the Bats turned up, there were members of the Jokerz gang stationed through out the school building. It wouldn't due to have their plan thwarted before it even began.

The dance was loud with a band at the northern end of the gym on a raised platform playing rock music, with intervals of classical or modern romance tunes. There was a loud cheer coming from all the students as the band introduced themselves to the crowd.

"Hey Gotham City High, how ya'all doin' tonight? Hope you're ready to rock out until eleven tonight cause that's when the party ends! It's so great to be back here in Gotham City, let me tell you... Now... Let's get going with some tunes, eh?" The lead singer with a green mohawk asked to another round of encouraging cheers.

The Dees could see Leia standing with her sister Melody, and Melody's date- a tall man with brown hair- cheering with the rest of the cheerleading team that still remained.

Just as the lead guitarist started strumming a tune, Sheryl nodded at Sharon.

"Now, Goon..." Sharon said in to a small communications device in her ears.

The lights suddenly went off in the gym, and all the windows that were open were abruptly blocked out by the shutters as they slammed down.

"Hey! What's going on?" Demanded one of the musicians on the stage.

"Sorry to interrupt your little party here... but we're only after one person..." Said a man wearing a Joker mask, jumping down from the light fixtures hanging from above as smoke started filling the gym and coughing could be heard all around.

"Sorry little girl, but you're coming with us." Sharon grabbed Leia's arm and pulled before Leia could counter the action.

"S-Sharon?" Leia blinked at the twin and how remarkably different she looked with the blond wig.

"We have a few things to discuss." Sheryl smiled sweetly as they pulled Leia from the group- who couldn't see because of the wall of smoke now filling the gymnasium.

"To discuss? What do I have to discuss with a bunch of killers?" Demanded Leia as the smoke became thicker in the gymnasium.

* * *

><p>Finally Dick Grayson called to the end of the first training that Batgirl had had. At least, training of the <em>serious<em> sort.

"Well, she wasn't entirely horrible." Wonder Woman tied up her whip and put it in its traditional spot at her hip. "Still needs work, but I think in time, she'll be just as good as one of us."

Batgirl walked over to the consoles, where her grandmother handed her the soda she'd brought down. She took off her mask, and Wonder Woman raised a black brow at Caitlyn as she drank the sugary beverage.

"How can you stand that stuff?" She asked.

"Well, for one, I'm only a teenager... And another, I like it." Shrugged Caitlyn, still marveling at the fact that she was in the presence of one of the greatest heroines of all time. And her grandfather had been allies with her during his...fitter days. "You know grandpa, I still can't imagine you and grandma fitting in to an outfit like what Batman and Batgirl wear." She admitted.

"Well, that was a long time ago, besides, you humans age a lot quicker than my kind do." Diana said.

Caitlyn felt as though she'd been hit by a semi-truck. Her muscles were refusing to move willingly at the moment, so she was grateful when he grandmother handed her some painkiller pills.

"This is just the beginning Caitlyn. I'll be coming by once a week to see how you are improving." Diana looked at the girl.

"Joy." Caitlyn decided to look at the screens. Which proved to be a mistake. She saw the gymnasium under siege by the Jokerz' clan. She knew Batman was probably on the way already, but she spotted the Dees dragging Leia out of the gym. Leia was no fighter.

"Where do you think you're going?" Demanded Barbara.

"To rescue my friend." Replied Caitlyn as she pulled the Batgirl mask over her head even though she was clearly aching all over from the training. "Unlike you guys, I'm not setting out to become the worlds' greatest super hero... I'm setting out to make sure that what happened to me and my family never happens again to anyone else." And she set down the already drained soda can on the console before turning to leave. "Thanks for the jolt, Nana. I needed it."

And she was gone from the room before they could protest.

Instead of being angry that she'd stormed out after her little speech, Wonder Woman was looking mildly impressed.

"Loyalty and dedication, huh? I wonder who she got that one from." She said out loud, remembering some of Nightwing and Barbara's more eccentric qualities while they were in the Justice League.

"So you're staying to watch?" Asked Dick.

"I want to see how she fares out on the field." Replied Diana, looking over at the screens.


	7. Chapter 6

**Note from the Author: **Ok, this chapter is much bigger than the last, and a couple fans of the story have been begging pretty much for more Terry/Caty action. The reason why it took so long to GET to it was because I have a plot in mind. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter though! This one is just for you Terry/Caty fans! Thanks for your support, it means so much even having just a few fans. It keeps my creativity juices flowing, knowing that there are people who enjoy my writing styles. This chapter is on the dramatic side, be warned. I won't say why, you guys probably at least already have a hint as to why that would be ;) So I hope this chapter is much more satisfying than the last!

**Chapter Six: **

**The Unbearable Rift **

Leia was still arguing, rather loudly about being pulled from the dance. There was confusion all around in the gymnasium, as to who had been taken from their midst after the clown faced Jokerz Goon jumped out of sight.

"Leia? Where'd you go?" Melody was looking around when she realized Leia wasn't by her side. She knew even though they argued and bad mouthed each other a lot that Leia would never willingly leave her families' side. "Leia!" She called out over the noise of confused classmates and teachers.

"Calm down, Mel', I'm sure it's going to be ok." Said her date reassuringly. "You won't find her by freaking out."

"You're right... You're right...calm down, deep breath..." Melody closed her eyes as though meditating and took a few steadying breaths before opening her eyes again. Leia still hadn't come back.

* * *

><p>Batman stood on the roof top of the school moments after the alarms in the bat cave went off and Bruce tracked down the source of trouble. He spotted all the Jokerz goons hanging out around the roof and surrounding the school building like a royal guard, and knew it would be hard getting through them, but figured there was no other way around this mess. He was glad he activated his cloaking device, otherwise he'd have been a sitting duck on the tower next to the school. He spotted something that was going to give him a much harder time than ten different Jokerz Goons though.<p>

Batgirl was flying right at the Dee twins and judging by her narrowed eyes, she was pissed off. He could tell she had the cloaking device activated, but his suits' visual scanners could see past that. She landed on a gargoyle statue head of the nearby business building however and he decided to make his presence known to her.

Batgirl crouched on the head catlike, staring as the Dees pulled Leia from the school building before deciding how she was going to get Leia from that mess.

"So, you're here too?" Batman's voice startled her from her musings and she looked to see him standing there on the statue next to hers. "How do you think we should tackle this one?"

"I'm going for the Dees, I don't know about you... But I say go straight to the source... ignore the mindless pawns they brought with them." Batgirl stood up, once she knew who it was.

"Wait, we can't just barge in there like there's no tomorrow." Batman grabbed her wrist to keep her from taking off. "Don't you see that they have at least ten goons with them to pull this off?"

"But Leia's getting kidnapped by those raggedy Anne twins of doom and you just wanna think up a plan?"

"You said the other day we'd be working as a team from now on, right?" Batman glared at her, understanding her desire to get there right away, but knowing the consequences of rushing in blindly. "And that's the only way we'll be able to get your friend out of there intact."

Batgirl stared at Batman for a moment. It wasn't the first part of his statement that caught her off guard, but that he knew she was Leia's friend. Was it that unusual for a person like her to know the one they're rescuing by name?

"How do you...Know she's my friend?" She looked at Batman with narrowed eyes beneath her mask. There was an awkward silence. "Batman?"

"Well, truth is, I've known who you are for a while. I've just been keeping that secret on the offset you might willingly tell me in the near future." He shrugged. He figured either that, or sooner or later he'd have to tell her he knew who she was since she was too stubborn to notice or talk about these kinds of things. Though he'd prefer not to discuss this matter when someone's life is most likely at stake.

"And just who are you to know so much about everything that goes on in Gotham at the drop of the hat?" She demanded, still trying to get free of his grip.

Another pause.

"Can't we discuss this AFTER the fight?" He asked, reminding her why she'd come here in such a rush in the first place.

"Fine." She finally jerked her hand out of his grip and turned to see the Dees pulling Leia on to their getaway hovercraft.

"Then let's get moving." Nodded Batman, glad to avoid _that_ discussion in particular for a little while longer.

* * *

><p>"So apparently she's not the easiest person to work with?" Diana had her arms crossed over her chest as she watched what was happening.<p>

"Not really... But let's see how you handle your parents being killed right before your eyes, and your friends being torn apart by the Jokerz clan and see how easily you trust after all that?" Replied Dick. Barbara had gone upstairs because she was expecting an evening delivery from one of their family friends.

"Fair enough." Shrugged Diana with a casual expression on her face.

* * *

><p>Sharon and Sheryl had managed to get Leia in to their hovercraft getaway vehicle without any incident after a few convincing words as to why she should go with them. The two discarded their wigs, revealing their orange hair once more, and wore big grins on their faces as they took off from the school, followed by five other hovercraft.<p>

That's when the twins saw them...

Batman and Batgirl flying right at them, looking ready for a confrontation.

"Looks like we've got company, sis..." Sharon said.

"Take care of them, Goon!" Ordered Sheryl, bracing herself.

"Roger that, Dees!" The same guy who had jumped on to the stage and crashed the party in the school in the first place was in the hovercraft to their right, pulled out two laser guns, while the pilot ducked to avoid being shot as each passenger in the surrounding craft withdrew their own sets of laser guns.

"Isn't that a bit overkill, Sheryl?" Asked Leia.

"You might wanna duck." Said Sharon.

"So first we take out the goons?" Asked Batgirl once she saw the flashes of laser guns from the passengers in the five surrounding hovercraft around the Dees and their captive.

"Or as many as we can." Shrugged Batman. "Either way it'll make it easier for us, won't it?"

There was no time to make farther plans as they got within eyeshot, lasers from ten sets of guns were shooting at them and forced them to take evasive maneuvers in midair. Batgirl swerved to the left, and Batman to the right. Batgirl did what she could to avoid being shot at, and activated her cloaking device.

"Dammit!" One of the men shouted when she disappeared, and a short moment later, Batman did as well.

Batman appeared seconds later in front of the first man who'd pulled out his weapons.

"Boo." He said, before ramming his fist in to the clown faced man's face, sending him flying backwards before he could comprehend what he'd been looking at.

"Why you son of a-!" Shouted one of the nearby goons, aiming his guns at the only Bat he could see... at least until the man disappeared again. Instead of hitting Batman, the lasers struck the pilot.

_One down. _Thought Batman. _Without even breaking a sweat._ As he moved on to the next hovercraft while dodging random lasers that were firing all around him, striking close but not right on.

In the meantime, Batgirl had swung herself up and over from underneath the hovercraft on the opposite end that Batman appeared on. She didn't wait to be seen, but rather swung her legs up in the fashion of a cheerleader, her feet smacking in to first the pilot, then as she landed, her fists in to the man who was barely able to get his lasers pointed in the right direction as the pilot sat lopsided, unconscious from the blow. She noticed one of the hovercraft falling towards the ground miles below that Batman had already overcome.

She blinked when she saw lasers aimed at her from another oncoming hovercraft, then jumped in the air once more, her movements powered by the rockets the feet of her suit. All of this was happening so quickly it was kind of hard for her to keep track, but she was getting the hang of it as she slammed her fists in to the goon that had fired at her, only to take down his own allies' hovercraft.

"You fools never learn... Clowns belong in the circus or rodeo." Batman said to the man who was identical to the last he'd overcome.

"Like we need a lecture on where to make our stand by the Dark Knight." The goon snapped before aiming his laser guns at Batman, who shot them out of the goon's hands with two Bat-a-rangs generated from the wrists of the Bat suit.

Leia watched the whole fight as the Dees struggled to keep their craft steady while flying above Gotham. _Why is Batgirl fighting so hard to rescue me? We've never met! _She couldn't help but wonder as the wind whipped around them. Every now and then she'd yell out as the craft rocked a little, nearly sending her flying off as a rogue laser zipped by. When suddenly, there was only the Dees and their craft left with a trail of flaming wreckage behind them.

"Crap!" Sheryl exclaimed.

"I see them sis!" Sharon swore as the two Bats now turned their attention to the twins and their apparent hostage.

Batgirl was flying alongside them on Leia's end of the ship.

"Leia, grab hold!" Batgirl shouted over the wind and sound of the hovercraft, holding out her hand to grab Leia's. But something wasn't right. Leia wasn't acting like herself. For one thing, she was staring at Batgirl suspiciously, and not reaching out to be rescued while Batman distracted the Dees. "What are you waiting for?"

"No." Said Leia, shaking her head. She wanted the truth, now more than ever. And since Caitlyn was stuck at home with her two overprotective grandparents, she did not trust Batgirl for some reason. It was odd that Batgirl knew her name like this already.

"Hang on!" Sharon shouted to Leia and Sheryl as Batman appeared in front of them. There was a sudden, violent swerve from the hovercraft, Leia and Sheryl held on for dear life so they wouldn't be sent tumbling for miles to their deaths.

Batgirl stopped for a split second when Leia told her no. But she wasn't going to give up that easy. And apparently Batman was out to help as well. Yet she was feeling the training from earlier, even with the painkiller pills she'd taken. She was starting to slow down in her reactions. The only thing keeping her going was adrenaline and caffeine from the soda.

"Why are you going with them when you know what they've done?" He asked, surprised as well at Leia's refusal to be helped out of there.

"I've got my reason, Mr. Bats." Leia frowned, unaware that she was resurrecting an old nickname of Batman that Harley Quinn had given the Dark Knight years ago. She had enough of the two Bats as it was, and in her anger, she used her power that she'd hidden from everyone.

A giant piece of the rubble from one of the hovercraft taken down earlier came rising up out of nowhere. It was metal with flames still erupting from it as it rose rapidly in to the sky. With a flick of her wrist that went unseen by Batman who was dodging some wild kicks from Sheryl, the chunk of metal slammed hard in to the back of Batgirl, who had not noticed anything.

Batman heard the noise and turned in time to see what had come out of nowhere and struck Batgirl, who was now falling. He now had no choice but to let the Dees go or else let Batgirl fall for miles.

* * *

><p>"Caitlyn! <em>Caitlyn<em>!" Dick was shouting in to the communications device as he saw nothing but skies from the video receivers in Batgirl's mask after hearing the unpleasant crunch of metal against a body.

* * *

><p>But Batgirl didn't answer. Caitlyn was in a bit of shock after what had happened just now. How did that piece of metal come flying out from nowhere? Did Leia harbor some secret she wouldn't even tell her, and that was why she opted to go with the Dees, even after all of this? She felt herself falling, not only in general, but in to darkness as well. The last thing she heard was her grandfather shouting in her ears, and the last thing she thought she saw was Batman reaching out to stop her descent.<p>

Batman had no choice but to let the Dees get away in the end as he landed on a skyscraper rooftop feeling a little awkward as he knelt down, propping Batgirl up with his arm.

"Hey! Hey wake up!" He called, and finally she stirred.

"Batman?" She mumbled. "Did you happen to get the license number of that garbage truck that hit me?" She asked as she slowly got to her feet.

"Sadly no." He repressed a chuckle. Apparently she couldn't resist the sarcasm even in a dazed and wounded state. Then things became serious.

"Leia... what about Leia?" She asked.

"Well...Uh..." Batman felt rather uncomfortable. He wasn't sure how to explain it.

But he didn't have to.

"So you let her go, did you?" She snarled.

"Hey, it was either that or let you fall to your death." Retorted Batman, suddenly feeling stung.

There was a nasty silence, but she finally sighed, too tired to really start picking a fight with Batman. To which he was grateful for.

"Fine... and since the fight's over for now... Care to tell me why you wanted to postpone the discussion from earlier?" She had her hands on her hips.

So that was why she wasn't flying off in an explosion of rage and temper.

"Well, we were talking about our identities, weren't we? I thought you'd prefer to talk about something like THAT without having to worry about our lives possibly being in peril, or that of your friend." He replied.

"Well, seeing as how my friend is currently out of our reach and all the Dees goons they had at hand are out of the picture, I'd say now is the perfect time to stop stalling. Now, just who are you and how is it you know who I am?" She demanded, her eyes narrowed.

Batman blinked at her, wondering if her grandmother had ever been this straight to the point. He thought of at first saying something along the lines of 'yeah, I'm the guy from school that you can barely stand', but he felt that would ruin the seriousness of the moment or the fact that she was actually interested in finding out the truth of the matter. Instead of telling her who he was, he opted for the option that would be the ultimate proof in his identity.

He moved to remove his mask, and when he did, Terry McGinnis stared at Batgirl with an unreadable expression on his face.

In her shock of the moment, she ripped off her own mask.

"You? You're Batman?" She pointed at him.

"Hey, imagine my surprise when I realized you were Batgirl all those weeks ago." He shrugged as though this was an every day thing.

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" She asked.

"Well, for one, you were busy hating both of my identities... and another, I wanted to see how things would play out before I said anything, if you'd tell me yourself or not." He admitted, scratching the back of his head.

"Great... just great... I get my ass beat by Wonder Woman today in training, then my best friend gets taken by the Dees, and it turns out that you're Batman." She started pacing in her temper that she was fighting to control.

"Wonder Woman? That's who's been teaching you? I thought it was Nightwing." Blinked Terry.

"No, you idiot... My Grandpa's too old for that particular kind of training, so he called in a few favors from the Justice League." She shook her head.

"Oh yeah, that's true..." Mumbled Terry, in regards to Dick Grayson being too old for training her to fight personally.

"Now, if you'll excuse me... It's time for me to head after my friend." She moved to put on her mask.

"It's actually time for me make sure you get back HOME safely." Terry said at once, seeing how tired she was on top of probably being worried sick about her friend.

"You don't have to." She retorted.

"YOU don't always have to be so stubborn to admit that you're exhausted and need rest before going after the Dees." He snapped. "You wouldn't be doing anyone any favors by going after them half alive. Besides, it's not like it's any big secret where they could be hiding."

"Who are you to tell me how to go about this situation?" She snapped.

"I've been Batman long before you became Batgirl." He replied simply with a shrug, walking right up to her to make a point that he was serious.

"Fine." She grumbled, putting on her mask once more.

_"Caitlyn!"_ Dick's voice caused her to wince the moment she put on her mask, still sounding panicked and worried.

"I'm fine, Grandpa." She replied. "I'm coming back in a bit. No need to loose your head. And next time, please don't shout in my ears?"

"Don't make me think you were seriously hurt or killed, and then I'll keep the decimals down." Replied Dick.

Terry had put on his mask while she spoke with her grandfather, and nodded when she glanced back at him before taking off.

Batgirl blinked when she saw Diana was still there, hands on her hips as she at Batman walked through the door to the command center.

"Been a while, Batman." Diana said, covering the moment where Dick raised a brow at the two of them.

"I'm going upstairs." Batgirl told them before Dick could order another smack down between her and Wonder Woman in front of Batman.

The door slammed shut moments later.

"So what happened?" Dick turned to Batman.

"Well, the Dees got away, and her friend willingly went with them." Batman summed up the evening's events.

"So that's why she's crabby... But it's not like it's the first time she's lost a fight." shrugged Dick.

"I think it's more than that." Batman shook his head. "Having your brains beat out before going off to try and save your friend can do something to a person, you know?"

* * *

><p>"Momma, we got company!" Sharon called when they got home. Harley came out, her blond hair with the gray streaks in a pony tail.<p>

"Well I'll be, my little babies brought a friend!" Said Harley, wrapping her arms around Leia at once.

Sheryl made a gagging motion when Harley called them her 'little babies' in front of Leia.

"So what can I get'cha? We've got soda, candies and tea." Harley grinned broadly.

"I'll have a soda, thank you..." Nodded Leia when Harley released her. It was hard to believe this woman was the infamous Harley Quinn. She was looking around the strange home. She saw the photo of Harley, the twins and Nathan surrounding their father who was in a straight jacket in the center. "No way... your Dad is the Joker?" She blinked as Harley trotted away to get Leia a diet soda.

"The one and only!" Said Sheryl proudly. "The only person who ever had even the slightest CHANCE at beating the Bats in the past. And he's our daddy."

"All we've ever been trying to do is make momma and daddy proud of us." Sighed Sharon. "And they can be so impossible to please sometimes." She ran her hands through her orange hair.

"Here we go, sweetie, try not to spill any on your pretty dress." Smiled Harley, returning with a soda for each of them. She saw what Leia was looking at. "You've seen my pride and joy, I see! Yes, that's my puddin'. I can't wait for those nuts to release him and Nathan, then we can be a whole family again. Ya know? It gets kind of lonely without the little trouble makers around this house."

"Momma, you act like they're the only trouble makers in this home." Sharon pouted.

"Don't worry, kiddies. Momma loves all her babies!" Smiled Harley. "So, ya gonna tell me why you were out so late again so I won't have ta' beat'cha?"

"Well, it was the Bats, Mom. They didn't want us to have a slumber party with our friend!" It was Sheryl's time to pout.

"Oh... Mr. and Miss Bats are out and about instead of having fun?" Asked Harley.

"You know them, Mrs...?"

"Quinn, deary, Harley Quinn." Harley tapped Leia sweetly on her forehead with a wink.

"But Sharon and Sheryl are-"

"One of the fun parts of our family, we don't stick to tradition." Smiled Harley before sitting down.

"Sounds fun." Smiled Leia.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn was sitting quietly at the dining table as Barbara opened the door to someone. It was Melody.<p>

"Melody? What's the matter dear?" Asked Barbara when she saw the girl's tear stained face.

"I haven't been able to find my sister anywhere since the Jokerz crashed the school party... I hoped she might've come here?" Melody had a plead in her voice. Apparently she'd been checking all of her little sister's favorite haunts.

Barbara shook her head and stepped aside to show Melody that Leia was nowhere to be found, and Caitlyn was just having a late dinner.

"Cate! Have you heard from Leia?" Melody asked in spite of not seeing any sign of her sister here.

Caitlyn shook her head, looking puzzled as to why she'd be so worried when Leia should've been at the dance.

"No texts, no calls?"

Again, Caitlyn shook her head.

"Has something happened?" She asked.

"Leia was kidnapped by the Jokerz, I don't know where she's at!" Melody exclaimed.

"We just got a letter from Leia earlier today... Maybe it'll have something?" Barbara suggested, walking to the kitchen and grabbing the letter she'd gotten while Caitlyn had been out as Batgirl trying to rescue Leia.

"What? Why didn't you tell me there was a letter from Leia?" Demanded Caitlyn, standing up a little too quickly and swaying on the spot.

Barbara opened up the letter, glaring at Caitlyn to stay put. Instead of anything helpful, it was Caitlyn's ticket for the event tomorrow.

"Anything?" Asked both Melody and Caitlyn.

"Nothing. I'm sorry." Sighed Barbara.

"I'll keep looking. Cate, you look like you need to rest a bit, so stay put." Melody said when she saw Caitlyn looking rather pale. She thanked Barbara before dashing off. Barbara waved at the young man in the hover car who'd apparently been driving Melody around, then closed the door.

"I hate to lie to Melody... but it's the only way to keep her from getting involved in this mess too." Barbara shook her head as Caitlyn went back to trying to finish her meal- her favorite pizza that Barbara had ordered.

"Yeah... You can see how well that idea worked with Leia in trying to keep her out of this mess." Grumbled Caitlyn, still feeling mutinous to everybody who was keeping her from going after her friend when she knew exactly where she was at. On top of it all, she was still trying to grasp the fact that Terry McGinnis was Batman and he'd known who she was for a while before today.

* * *

><p>Batman had left, then a short time later, Diana. Dick sat in the command center with a frown on his face as he watched the computer screens. There was no suspicious movements or activities going on in the Quinn household, so he couldn't send Caitlyn out. He wondered what the twins were up to, taking Leia to such an obvious place.<p>

* * *

><p>"Well, what can we do for ya?" Asked Sharon once they had shown Leia to their room. "We are at your disposal."<p>

"Wait... Aren't I still your hostage?" Blinked Leia, now thoroughly confused.

"No, no,no..." Sheryl shook her head. "Why would we try to harm someone who never had anything to do with what happened to our parents?"

"Come again?" Blinked Leia.

"Our Parents... Momma Harley and Daddy Joker... Daddy's in the nut house cause he's too good for society, and Momma rarely goes out cause of what the Bats did to them." Said Sharon with a sniff.

"Why? What happened?" Asked Leia, as Sheryl showed her to one of their chairs to sit down.

And Leia listened as the twins told the story of how all Harley and the Joker had wanted back in the day was a family of their own, so the adopted little Tim Drake- the Robin at the time-, taking him from the lifestyle he'd been leading that lead to so much grief and sorrow for everyone around him. Then about how the Batman and Batgirl of that age confronted the Joker and Harley, and how Harley had fallen after a fight with Batgirl. Then how Harley had literally fallen out of the spotlight.

"And now the miss Bats is back! We had it rough with just one Bat before... but now there are two of them..." Sniffed Sheryl, rubbing her eyes on the back of her hand.

"We were thinking maybe you can help us, Leia. You've got such a special gift." Sharon looked at the blond girl, who blinked.

"Why would I help the people who killed my best friend's parents just to impress their own for some grandiose idea that it would help them gain something?" Snapped Leia. She avoided the part about her powers.

"Because...Your best friend might not be so special to you." Sheryl said slowly, causing Leia's eyes to narrow at those words.

"What do you mean?" Asked Leia, setting down her now empty diet soda can on the table next to her chair.

"What I mean is, your friend has been keeping something pretty big from you, even though she claims that her grandparents are just being overly protective, there's a reason why she's quit doing the things that she loves. And she barely participates in Cheerleading practices these days even." Sharon had to resist the urge to sneer.

"Well I expect she's just been..." Leia paused, thinking hard. Now that she thought on it, there were so many things these days happening, and Caitlyn had been mysteriously gone during those events. And Batgirl's moves had always looked so familiar to Leia, she remembered that Caitlyn had just completely vanished only to return home during one such event, without even checking up on her as normally would have happened.

"See? There IS a way to find out though..." Sharon saw Leia clearly thinking about what had been going on over the last month.

"How?" Leia looked at the two sisters, who in turn looked at each other with odd glints in their eyes that did not bode well for anyone.

* * *

><p>"So the kidnappers got away, but you managed to save Batgirl from getting killed." Bruce said when Batman returned to the Batcave.<p>

"Yeah, add on to that the fact that we finally know each other a little bit more." Terry said as he pulled off his mask.

"So you told her did you?" Blinked Bruce.

"Had no choice." Shrugged Terry. "Besides, you can't say you never knew the identities of _your_ teammates."

"Teammates... right." Bruce rolled his eyes, turning back to the computer consoles he usually sat in.

"And what's that little comment mean?" Asked Terry at once going on the defensive.

"Nothing." Shrugged Bruce. "You'd better get going. It's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

"Right. Let me know if you need help with anything." Terry was glad the old man apparently did have a little bit of a sense of humor still if he was still trying to frazzle his apprentice on occasion. Then again, Terry was always taking shots at the old man, so turn about was fair play at least.

So after changing back in to civilian clothes, Terry left Wayne Manor to finish what he'd been doing before Bruce called him earlier, some shopping for his mother, and himself as he grabbed a few things to take with him to the concert the next day. He found himself thinking as he looked at the brands of Chinese dumplings that his mother wanted for dinner on Monday. There was certainly a lot going on since the Jokerz decided to get active again. And there was no hint or sign of James Roth since he escaped from prison with the help of Catwoman the other night. But at least there weren't any more secrets between Batman and Batgirl anymore, they knew who they were and he could feel that trust was beginning to build. If he played it right, they might actually be friends later. He put the Chinese dumplings in the shopping basket he had on his arm before moving on down the isle.


	8. Chapter 7

**Author's Comments: **Wow, Can this really be three chapters in one week? Yeah... It is. This is the last chapter before the action starts up again, and to be honest with you, this one was hard to write. Because this means I'm close to finishing one more Arc in my Batgirl Beyond saga. Not that I'm done with the whole story... I know there are at least a couple fans who'd bury me alive for finishing the story without a conclusion of a DIFFERENT set of soap opera drama going on in this story between Terry and Cate. But let's be realistic here people... love doesn't happen right off the bat. It forms after getting to know a person and actually spending time hanging out with them. First comes the friendship aspect of things. I know you guys are eager for aforementioned drama to rev up, but I've got a plot that I intend on following that will make it even MORE rewarding later on when your guys' wishes are finally fulfilled... oh yes, they WILL be answered, your wishes. I'm NOT one of those authors who just wants to skip through everything and get right to sex and whatnot. I do happen to have morals and personal beliefs that I plan on sticking to. Even in my writing. But I am so glad you guys are enjoying the story, your encouragement helps me get through the hard parts like this chapter knowing I've got at least a couple of fans who enjoy my works. I'm not doing this for the popularity, I know I'm not going to please everyone. That's a fact in life. But even just having a few people who enjoy my writing is worth more than not having any readers at all! So thank you!

**Dedication: **Sokai for being such a big help in making SURE I don't turn certain characters in to weaklings who can't take care of themselves. And Gleek2Beat for being such a supportive fan!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven: <strong>

**Drifting Away**

Caitlyn woke up that morning feeling better physically than she had the day before, but emotionally, she was miserable. She'd argued with her grandmother for an hour about not going to the concert and instead just going after the Dees before they got Leia in to something dangerous. But Barbara shot her down, saying that the only way she'd be able to do Leia any good at this point was to go to the concert, because that was most likely where the Jokerz next target would be, knowing their track record. And where the Jokerz struck, was likely to be the Dees, and thus lead to Leia. It was better than storming a house and gaining the reputation of a break-and-entering type of heroine.

There was something going on, and Caitlyn knew it. She never wanted Leia involved in any of this, that was why half the time she'd opted out of telling her best friend about her double life as Batgirl. Why she dropped out of so many things she used to do on a regular basis. She heard her grandmother knocking on her bedroom door before opening and saw Caitlyn sitting up in bed, bleary eyed, her normally neat, straight brown hair sticking up in odd ends as though she'd slept on it wrong, and drowsy.

"Good, I was just checking to make sure you weren't going to sleep through the day and miss the concert. Remember your suit, and I've got breakfast waiting for you. Hurry before it gets cold." Barbara smiled. Batgirl or not, Caitlyn was still her granddaughter, and still a sixteen year old in spite of what's happened.

When her granddaughter came out of her room, she was wearing a purple three-layered skirt, a purple shirt with a v-neck and green butterflies curving up from the bottom, and over the shirt she wore a dark navy blue denim jacket. Instead of heels, she wore flat bottomed purple shoes with a strap around the ankle. She was still only half awake, but her hair was now brushed and neat again hanging loose but for a couple of green clips above her ears to keep it back.

She knew she could count this last episode with Leia and the Dees as one of her many failures in the beginning of her journey as Batgirl. She had no one to blame but herself for that, even though Barbara tried to console her Granddaughter, saying that not every heroes or heroines' missions or adventures were successful or easy. But that idea still didn't deaden the feeling of loss, anger and disappointment that was welling up inside her at the moment as she stepped in to the world without her best friend.

After breakfast, it was time for her to go to the stadium where the concert was taking place.

"Don't forget this." Barbara held up the tickets that had been sent to them.

"Thanks." Caitlyn mumbled.

"How's she doing?" Dick came out from the command center after Caitlyn was gone, having preferred not to witness Caitlyn's morning mood after such a bad day previously.

"Still mad at us for not letting her go right after her friend last night." Shrugged Barbara as though this was just another episode in daily life.

"She'll get over it." Nodded Dick as he got himself a fresh cup of coffee.

"Let's hope so. This is the worst defeat she's experienced yet... but-"

"We always had to find a way around it, and become stronger by doing so." Dick finished his wife's sentence with a nod.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn stared at her tickets. There was one for the concert, backstage. And then there was one for the after party.<p>

_Leia really outdid herself with this..._ She marveled at the fact that Leia managed to keep this surprise from her all this time. Apparently Leia sent the tickets via her mother the previous day while everything had been going down in town. Yet her friend wasn't here to enjoy this. The thought filled Caitlyn's stomach with the feeling like a rock had set in as she walked to the stadium.

When she showed her tickets to the greeters, they smiled and told her where to go.

The stadium was large with lots of windows on all sides. The floors were carpeted in crimson and gold, and around the inner level where the performances were held, was the food court for the citizens with concession stands and she couldn't pass up buying a diet pepsi on her way to the backstage level in the southern end of the building.

When she reached the door, she saw the guards and raised her tickets.

"Ah, so you're miss Boardener? Welcome." The guard on the left said. "Please, this way." He opened the door.

"Thank you." She smiled at the two men before walking in. Then she saw someone who was already there leaning against the wall. "Oh great." She mumbled rather unenthusiastically at the sight of Terry McGinnis, who looked over when the door to the back stage opened up.

"Hey." He waved at her, seeing how tired she still looked. But there was something to be said about the fact that she DID know how to dress up on occasion. How she looked now was in stark contrast to the Batsuit or the school clothes she normally wore.

Caitlyn blinked at Terry, but nodded in response to the greeting before finding a seat. This would be a whole lot more fun if Leia had been there.

"So Mr. Wayne's not here, is he?" She asked Terry.

"Nah, these particular kind of gigs aren't his thing anymore. He'll be at the after party though." Terry shrugged.

"Makes sense." She took a sip of her soda as a golden haired woman approached them.

"Hello, you must be the ticket winners then? I'm the manager of this facility, but you can just call me Amy." The woman said kindly to the two. "I thought there was one more to your group?" She blinked her blazing blue eyes at the two of them.

"No, Leia couldn't make it." Said Caitlyn without missing a step in the conversation. "She really wanted to, though."

"Oh, that's a shame...Such a shame. Well, I'm glad that at least you two could make it. It would've been boring this morning after all the work the crew and I put in to this performance and tour you're getting. The crowd's not expected to be here for another three hours. So... You're probably wondering why we wanted you here so early?" Amy looked expectantly between the two with a heightened sense of excitement in her voice and on her face.

Caitlyn rather felt like she was being put on the spot to answer with 'yeah'. But she didn't want to take the bait. And judging by the look on Terry's face, he wasn't going to stoop that low either. Finally after an awkward silence, Caitlyn sighed.

"Fine... I'll bite..." She grumbled. "Why not?" She said more audible.

"Well, for ONE, you miss Bartell are going to get to spend some time shopping with the girl of the band, and since I DOUBT Mr. McGinnis will enjoy the trip to the mall as much, he gets to hang out with the rest of the group, at least away from a bunch of squealing women going gaga over clothes." Amy shrugged as a tall woman wearing leather pants, a black jacket, and vibrant red and black shirt came walking over. She also wore high heeled leather boots, and looked like she'd just put down a heavy guitar. Her hair was short, and in a spiky hawk form, which highlighted the purple against the red and black of her outfit.

"Sweet... I won't have to hang around madam smart ass all day." Terry couldn't restrain himself.

"And I can get away from Mr. Ego and Sarcasm Overload over there."

The other band members to the woman's group arrived, and they were all men.

"Ooh, fiesty." Said a green haired man with a mohawk. "I like that in a girl."

"Back off John." His friend with spiky brown hair said. "You might make her boyfriend mad at you."

"Hey! This guy's NOT my boyfriend, ok? And for the record, I can barely tolerate him." Caitlyn snapped at the boys in spite of herself.

The men in the group looked at Terry who shrugged with the expression 'I didn't do anything this time.'

"Ah young love." Grinned one of the men who wore glasses.

"Will you knock it off, Tim? I don't think you're making any friends with these two."

"And you must be the rest of the band I presume?" Said Terry.

"Yep. I'm John, this is Zack, the black haired dude skulking over there is David, and Mr. Four-Eyes is actually Everett, or Tim." Said John when he saw that even Terry was looking a little annoyed at the teasing. But Terry was keeping silent, preferring not to entice any more arguments at the moment.

"Hey, you must be Miss Boardener?" Asked the rather vivid woman. "I'm Sumayah, pleased to meet you!"

"Glad to see I'm not the only girl here today." Smiled Caitlyn, shaking Sumayah's hand with her own.

"It's a shame your friend couldn't make it. But we'll have just as much fun!" Said Sumayah, her crimson eyes bright and cheerful at the moment.

* * *

><p>Nearby, Amy was watching what was going on with narrowed eyes, and an odd, almost uncharacteristic gleam in her eyes. She turned away, walking down the hall to her office, which was devoid of most signs of life except for a figure in the corner.<p>

"Well, Catwoman, our plan is going off without a hitch." James Roth's voice came from Amy when she spoke to the woman in the corner. "No one has noticed the real manager's disappearance. You ARE keeping her alive, yes?"

"Alive and well. She's unhappy at the moment, but once things are cleared up we'll let her go." Nodded Catwoman.

"And so long as Batman and Batgirl don't detect what's going on until Boardener is out of the picture... Then our plan will have been successful." A sneer crossed Amy's face when at that moment, there was a knocking on the office door. Catwoman slipped farther in to the shadows, where she wouldn't be seen.

"Madam, you're needed in the food courts for a moment." The man said when Amy's voice answered.

"Yes, I'll be there in a little bit." Said Amy in her own voice.

* * *

><p>The next three hours flew by, as Sumayah took Caitlyn to all of her favorite places, avoided the papparazi, and the fans who spotted them out and about. Caitlyn did her best to have fun, but her mind was on her friend who was missing still, and had not turned up at some random point as she'd hoped. She couldn't escape the deadening feeling that while she was off trying to live a normal life in between battles, something terrible was happening to her best friend.<p>

"Well, we've got an hour before the show starts. We'd better head back, we need one more show review before we can start." Said Sumayah, who'd turned out to be quite fun to hang out with despite Caitlyn's inner battle to keep herself from running off and confronting the Dees and disobeying her grandparents outright. Sumayah even bought Caitlyn some expensive, rare items as well that she planned on enjoying later on that week.

* * *

><p>In the meantime, Terry had had fun going to a burger joint with the male members of the team, who as it turned out, were nearly all born in Gotham and eager to learn the latest news since they were last in town. Which was how they found out about Batgirl.<p>

"A woman in dark purple skin-tight leather, hnnn? I'd like to meet HER down a dark alley sometime..." Said John with a glazed look in his eyes.

_Not if you knew her attitude half the time..._Thought Terry. He was beginning to see why Caitlyn put on her guard half the time when she was around men in general. People like this didn't deserve politeness or respect from girls.

When the group returned, they saw Sumayah and Caitlyn backstage gabbing away like they were fast friends. Terry wondered why Caitlyn would want to be friends with someone who dressed like she was ready for a rave party. But as it turned out, the two had a lot in common.

"Here you are, what did you do all morning? Go to a burger joint and eat tons of calories?" Asked Sumayah, glaring at each of the men who all had obvious guilty looks on their faces.

"Well, Suma, we couldn't just go to a boring fancy restaurant with Mr. McGinnis, he's still a kid like us." Said David, pushing his glasses back up his nose when they slipped a little.

"Hey! I'm seventeen!" Snapped Terry at that comment, which was pretty much ignored.

"Well, let's get to rehearsal before the show actually starts. It's on your heads if all anyone sees on camera is greasy faced, acne covered teens on stage." Snarled Sumayah. She smiled at Caitlyn and waved at Terry.

"Just make yourselves comfortable, there are seats over there where you can watch but not be seen and stay out of our way during scene changes." Said Tim.

"So, have fun, just hang out and make sure to let Amy know if you need something." John winked at Caitlyn, who rolled her eyes.

Terry stood off to the side, and pulled out his cell phone, seeing that Bruce had called, so he dialed the old man's phone number.

"I see you're finally answering your cell phone." Answered a rather impatient sounding Bruce Wayne.

"Hey, sorry, I was busy." Said Terry.

"Have you noticed anything out of the ordinary?" Asked Bruce.

"Not really. The band is pretty much like any other group of friends, and their manager acts like she runs on nothing but caffeine." Terry gave an unseen shrug of the shoulders.

"Well keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

"I plan on doing a bit of snooping before the show starts." Nodded Terry, speaking in a lower tone of voice as some crew members walked by. "I was planning on having a quick word with Caitlyn then heading out."

"Keep me posted. I don't trust how quiet things have been over there." Bruce finished.

Terry turned to Caitlyn. He figured since they were starting out as friends he might be able to have a few words without her biting his head off right away.

"Hey." He said as he put his phone back in his pocket, and she turned from her spot where she'd been watching behind the stage curtain as the group was setting up for their brief one hour rehearsal before the show. He could hear the sounds of the crowd in the audience.

She blinked at him, wondering what would possess him to want to talk to her at this moment.

"What do you want?" She asked, her hands on her hips as she looked at him.

"Well, for one, I didn't realize these types of bands were your thing. And another, you should be more on your guard." He added. "Has it occurred to you that the Dees _might _know who you are, and could try to find some way of using that against you? They might not be the brightest of people, but their family members seem to have a few more brain cells than them at least."

"What's with you suddenly thinking I need more lectures on how to do my job?" She asked, now crossing her arms and raising an ebony brow at him.

"In case you weren't aware, you _are _new at this whole thing. And yes, you do need the help. Otherwise Dick wouldn't have asked Diana to help train you in combat." Snapped Terry when he sensed her temper rising. If he could hold his own with people like Inque, and Ten, he could certainly hold his ground with Caitlyn. "I would think you'd be glad for the advice instead of going head on in to things blindly and winding up dead."

"Ok, ok...spare me the lecture. And what's your reasons for being on guard in a place like this?" She said, sounding a little annoyed.

"Bruce seems to think the Jokerz are going to strike here, he just isn't sure when or what for." Terry blinked.

"Bruce? You mean Mr. Wayne, right?" She figured he must be the one that Terry was taking orders from.

"Who else has a name like that?" Terry stared at her moment of stupidity.

"I'm bad with names. Sue me." She retorted, seeing the look on his face.

Terry didn't buy that, but he chose not to press the subject and continued.

"And another thing..." He paused, wondering how to go about this one. "How are you doing?"

She blinked at him.

"What do you mean? I'm doing fine, I'm here aren't I?" She said.

Terry sighed. She clearly had not gotten what he meant with his question about her well being.

"That's not what I was talking about." He looked at her. "You seem to be handling all of this rather well, considering."

Caitlyn got what he'd been trying to ask about. And shrugged. She didn't like talking about what was going on through her head right now. It normally resulted in arguments and shouting at the moment, especially last night right after her friend had been taken by the Dees.

"You know...If you need to talk about it..." Terry looked at her.

"I'm fine, ok?" She turned away from him as she took a sip of her soda. "Don't you have work to do?" She asked.

Terry felt stung, but at the moment he decided not to push the subject, and let her be. It wouldn't do anything on the whole building trust thing with her if all he did was piss her off half the time. But he did have one more thing to say before he left.

"Hey, I'd appreciate a little more friendliness on your end, ok? I know you've got it in there somewhere if you can make friends with someone like Sumayah." He said. It had shown Terry something new about her that he hadn't noticed before, that she could make friends with the unlikeliest of people. Now if only she'd exercise that philosophy of finding something good in everyone on him a little more openly.

There was so much that she was longing to throw at Terry right now, but she bit it back and kept her back turned to him.

So Terry just made a frustrated grunt before leaving, irritated and annoyed at her.

* * *

><p>Catwoman was standing unseen at the top of the light fixtures above the stage. It was almost time. And where the hell was James? Looking over to where the two teenagers were, she could easily see them arguing.<p>

* * *

><p>Batman was lurking about in the office quarters of the stadium, using the cloaking device to ensure he remained undetected. So far everyone looked like nothing was out of the ordinary. Amy was certainly a force to be reckoned with as she told off someone for leaving the coffee pot on to burn char the bottom. But it was as he watched that he saw something unusual, ten minutes to the start of the show.<p>

Amy went off to the side, claiming she needed a break, then slipped back to her office where she pulled out a cell phone.

"It's almost time. Is everything set?" She said in the voice of another person, which resulted with Batman paying closer attention with narrowed eyes. He had slipped in to the office unseen, behind Amy before she closed the door.

That was James Roth's voice, which could only mean one thing...

The real event coordinator for this concert was either dead, or hidden away somewhere out of sight.

James thought he heard something moving in the office as the Dees answered an affirmative on that question and looked up. But he didn't see anything.

There was a knocking at the door.

"Madam, five minutes till the show starts." Said a tall, dark skinned man when Amy's voice answered to enter after hanging up.

"Good. I'll be there in a bit."

Batman unfortunately didn't get any other bits of information that he would need to act. Other than something odd was indeed going on, and Bruce was going to be more smug than ever by the end of this about the fact that he'd been right as usual. He had to wait for them to act before he could, which was slightly frustrating. Apart from the fact that they weren't dropping any clues as to who it was they were going for, one of the band mates, or someone else entirely.

* * *

><p>Caitlyn had just come back from getting herself a fresh soda, as well as something crunchy but salty to munch on as Amy entered the backstage area.<p>

"Hm? Where's McGinnis?" Amy blinked.

"I dunno. He said he needed to go get something." Shrugged Caitlyn.

"Well, hope he's here shortly, he's going to miss the start of the show." Smiled Amy.

"Sorry, those crowds were murder." Said Terry as he came in moments after Amy finished talking. He too had a large thing of soda in his hands now.

"Good, you're here. I'll go tell the band it's time to get rolling." Said Amy before turning to the group directly behind the curtains as they were making sure the last of their instruments were tuned to the right frequency.

"So, find anything?" Asked Caitlyn, who guessed that Terry had just been doing a bit of detective work in the last little bit.

"Just keep your eye on Amy." He shrugged as the last call to the audience to get in their seats came on to the intercom.

"Yeesh... the anticipation for this show could be cut with a knife." Caitlyn muttered.

"Like you're any different from the rest of that mass." Terry said.

Caitlyn shrugged.

"Guilty as charged." She admitted rather shamelessly before returning to her snacks.

* * *

><p>Sharon and Sheryl were in the abandoned Jolly Candy Factory where their father had long ago started his own career as a super villain. Only this time, they were accompanied by someone else. And this person had golden yellow hair, currently tied in two pigtail braids with red ribbons at the bottom of the shoulder length braids. Instead of the orange and yellow frilly gown she'd been wearing just the day before, Leia now wore a crimson Japanese-school girl style mini skirt with an ultramarine blue double belt around her waist,that had a silver clasp in the front, a blue shoulder-less top that cut off two inches below the chest, and the top had a single heart shaped red brooch in the front center of the neckline. She also wore red gloves line with a single blue stripe around the edge, and crimson high heels with a strap around the ankle. Her face had the same clown paint as Sharon and Sheryl, which made her blue eyes stand out even more in the darkness of the abandoned factory.<p>

"That outfit suits you even more than that frilly dress you were in." Smiled Sharon.

"Thanks. I just hope your plan works." Leia was looking around the factory to make sure she had her bearings straight.

"Oh, it will... And here in a few hours, we'll know the truth that you're seeking." Sheryl smiled sweetly at her new friend.


	9. Chapter 8

**Author's Comments: **Whoof... This chapter was a big'un to write! But this is also the last chapter of Act Two, and I wanted to do it justice. SO... LOTS of drama in here. Confrontations, and bonds of trust being formed finally between characters. This is the ending of a particular arc in my Batgirl Beyond saga, and that's the arc with Leia in it. While for a time she may have been a true supportive character, well... without spoiling the whole thing, let's just say that changes drastically here. Spent a LOT of hours writing this... something like two days worth without stopping much but for sleep and food after the last chapter had been put up. Nothing like having an upset stomach to provide ample writing time!

Ahem... Back to business...

I was actually kind of apprehensive of writing this big climactic scene and had to think a LOT about how to go about this particularly emotional fight. Oh yes, it's an outright cat fight between two chickies. You'll see what I mean! Now.. Read on loyal fans, read on!

**Chapter Eight: **

**Saying Farewell**

Caitlyn couldn't help herself as she tapped her feet to the tune of the loud music that was being blared at everyone in the stadium. Even with her slight loneliness with Leia's absence, and with the being on guard around Amy the event coordinator, she found a way to block it out during the performances which lasted at least three hours that afternoon.

Then there was the after party, where everyone who played a key role in the show itself and the ticket holders were gathered in a large room near the top of the northern end of the stadium, the room was all glass windows on one side with a view of Gotham City in the evening. Caitlyn could see dark storm clouds rolling in from the distance as people were gabbing, and talking in general when one of the band members approached her again.

It was John.

"Pardon me, Miss Boardener, why are you standing over here by yourself like this when there's all kinds of people to talk with?" He asked.

"Just enjoying the view of that storm approaching. I used to have a view like this in the suite my family lived in. I kind of miss it." She admitted with a shrug.

"If you're bored, we COULD go to my private rooms for a little fun." He suggested.

BAM.

Caitlyn had rammed her fist right in his stomach before storming away.

Tim was applauding her at once when he saw her punching John for his rude behavior.

"Oh! I like her!" Tim was saying as he applauded her when she heard the clapping.

"Bout time someone hit him." Sumayah agreed with a green.

"Don't worry, I made sure there'd be no lasting visible damage for the next show." Caitlyn told Tim, who could care less.

"I doubt even THAT would knock sense in to him though." Sighed David before putting his nose in a book as he sat at a round table.

"I forgot that John was a shameless perverted moron." Caitlyn looked at Sumayah.

Bruce had been sitting at a table in that room after having made a short speech about it being a pleasure and honor to be supporting the band, as they were donating a lot of money to medical services in Gotham City, as well as a chunk to Wayne Enterprises.

"So, nothing exciting happening so far, eh?" Said Bruce as Terry brought him a drink.

"Not unless you count that just now." Terry jerked his thumb at Caitlyn punching the lead guitarist of the band in the stomach before stalking off to the band mates. He figured the man must've said something lewd to get her to actually punch him like that.

"Jealous of her getting that kind of attention are we?" Bruce smirked behind his mug.

"Why would I be jealous of a barracuda-possessed girl getting attention when I'm still trying to get her just to talk to me without her treating me like the trouble maker I used to be?" Asked Terry, sitting down at the table.

Bruce just shrugged as he put his mug down on the table.

* * *

><p>Amy had slipped away after the main speeches were given on the successful show. And pulled out the cell phone.<p>

"Now." Came James Roth's voice from the woman's body.

* * *

><p>The lights went out in the room suddenly, like a power outage and silence but for the sound of curious whispers overcame the people enjoying the after show party.<p>

It all happened in quick succession after the lights went out. Windows were crashed open as Catwoman lead a group of Jokerz thugs- mainly big burly guys with Joker's masks worn- and smoke was filling the room.

Glass was sprayed everywhere, and people were screaming as the thugs generally caused havoc, over turning tables, destroying displays, among other things.

Catwoman looked around. She saw Terry standing up in alarm at what was going on so suddenly, but he wasn't her target. She spotted the back of Caitlyn's head as the girl vanished in to the smoke, and gave chase with a smirk.

* * *

><p>"You going to be ok?" Terry asked Bruce, who nodded.<p>

"Just get to work." Snapped the old man.

* * *

><p>"Alright girly, I know you came out here." Said Catwoman when she went out in to the hallway.<p>

"Looking for me?" Batgirl suddenly appeared from a hidden passage, slamming her foot in to Catwoman's face right off the bat.

Another figure came out of the shadows once Catwoman had been sent to the wall at full force.

"What are you doing out here? You need to get where it's safe!" Batgirl said in alarm at Amy's reappearance, momentarily forgetting what Terry had said earlier about her being cautious of Amy, who was smirking in a way that meant trouble was brewing.

"Oh, I'm not the one who needs protection, Batgirl." James Roth's voice came from the woman, and Batgirl's eyes went wide as the woman transformed in to James right in front of her. "Splicing can do wonderful things to ones genetic code, you know? You should dab in to it sometime."

"No thanks. I like myself how I am, freakish in my own way WITHOUT genetic enhancements." Caitlyn backed away from the man a little bit as Catwoman recovered from the blow earlier.

The Jokerz thugs were still wrecking havoc in the room, breaking everything without hesitation and making sure to shoot out all the lamp fixtures and windows, at least until Batman turned up.

"Ah, crap." The Lead Jokerz grumbled at the sight of Batman sending two of his thugs backwards out of the nearest window.

"You bozos got a lot of nerve turning up here." Said Batman.

"We just thought we'd gate crash the party while our boss has a little fun." Grinned the lead Jokerz, who also happened to be the biggest one of the group.

"And who's your boss now?" Asked Batman as the leader signaled to the rest of his group- roughly eight men wearing identical joker masks- to join him.

"Wouldn't you like to know Batsy?" Grinned the leader.

Batgirl was surrounded, on one end was James Roth, Shape Shifter. Behind her was Catwoman, who looked like she was having the time of her life. Then there were walls on either side of her providing little room for maneuvering.

"Hey boss... Any suggestions on how to get out of this one?" She asked her grandfather through the communications link in the mask that was linked to the Command Center under the Grayson house.

"Wing it?" Came Dick's voice after assessing the situation.

"Great." Grumbled Batgirl, her voice heavily laced with sarcasm at the lack of advice as Catwoman came running at her the moment Shape Shifter moved to attack.

She ducked, slipped to the side, and saw the two attackers nearly crash in to each other but they had quick enough reflexes that they were able to dodge their own blows. Shape Shifter and Catwoman both looked at her.

"So you're not really all that special... I was wondering why someone like you ever became Batgirl..." Catwoman shook her head as she reached in to her utility belt for something, and Batgirl braced herself. "You just have someone giving you orders, telling you what to do, and a bit of luck and determination on your side."

"What about you? Why did you two become part of the side full of losers who are bent out of shape over something?"

"Because I can." Catwoman's answer was simple as she tossed what looked like a golf-ball sized sphere at Batgirl, who jumped back and out of the way. But not far enough as a gas emitted from the sphere. "It's more fun causing trouble and chaos than preventing it. Life is boring otherwise. Now here's a question for you... does your fancy suit offer protection against this? Because mine does." She said as Shape Shifter stepped behind her to avoid getting caught in the gas as it surrounded Batgirl, floating up from the ground before engulfing her.

Batgirl started coughing as the smell of sulfuric acid reached her nose, and she felt her vision fading.

"You... you weren't after any of the band members, were you?" She coughed.

"You finally caught on. But too late to save yourself." Catwoman looked on as Batgirl fell to her knees while she spoke. When Batgirl finally collapsed, and the smoke faded away, Catwoman nodded at Shape Shifter, who walked forward. "Get her out of here. Time for me to see how the party is going. in there." She added when she heard a loud crash, like a body being thrown against furniture.

* * *

><p>The Jokerz were now down by four men as Batman fought with them, keeping them from destroying anything else in that room or trying to take a hostage. He wondered what on earth was keeping Batgirl so long as he threw a fifth goon over his head and out of the window before two at once tried to take him on and get him in a strangle hold.<p>

A hovercraft could suddenly be heard, and he saw Catwoman was piloting an apparent getaway vehicle.

"We got what we came here for, get out of there." She snapped at the remaining goons.

"Awe, but we were having fun!"

"NOW." Catwoman's voice suddenly became dangerous and threatening, which was cue for the Jokerz goons to pay attention.

"Fine, come on guys."

"See ya round Batsy."

And the remaining crew from the attackers were gone.

Batman waited a few moments to make sure there weren't any surprises hanging around before turning to the party goers.

"Is everyone ok?" He asked, and he got nods of affirmative.

"Where's Caitlyn?" Asked Bruce, since he couldn't say 'where's Batgirl?' without giving anything away.

_Oh great..._ Thought Batman when he saw she wasn't there. But he knew where the Jokerz were taking her. He wouldn't waste time looking around when normally she'd have been right there being a smart ass and annoying the crap out of him. Instead he nodded at the group before jumping out the window and flying off toward a certain abandoned factory all the way at the other end of town, the favorite haunt of the Jokerz for their bigger campaigns.

* * *

><p>"Wake up! Nap time's over, Miss Batsy."<p>

SMACK.

Someone had kicked her in the face.

Batgirl shook her head like a wounded dog, and when she tried to move her hands, she found that she couldn't. She opened her eyes to a massive headache. And realized where she was instantly.

"You've got some unfinished business here, little girl." Sharon was grinning in Batgirl's face as Batgirl struggled to move her hands.

Her arms had been tied behind her back around a pole, and wrists tied together with what felt like a pipe wrapped around them.

"Sorry bout the rough treatment, but we can't afford you getting loose yet, Batsy." Sheryl smiled as Batgirl wondered how on earth they managed to wrap a pipe around her wrists like that.

"So, why'd you bring me here of all places?" Asked Batgirl.

"Oh? You don't remember? I thought you'd know... it looks like Batsy is getting a little stupid, doesn't it sis?" Asked Sheryl.

"Indeed it does, Sis." Grinned Sharon.

"What about you, Miss Hart? Don't you have anything to say?" The twins looked behind them, and Batgirl became curious. Then a figure stepped from the shadows.

"No..." Batgirl murmured as Leia came in to the forefront.

"Ah... So this IS jogging something in that thick skull of yours." Grinned Sharon.

"I want to know who you are, Batgirl." Leia said. "And if you are who I think you are, then why you lied to me all this time."

Silence.

"You won't get her to answer this way..." Sharon advised.

"Maybe we need another means of convincing her to talk?" Grinned Sheryl, and Leia nodded, walking up to Batgirl who was still tied to that pole.

Leia reached over, and pulled off the mask without waiting for permission. She didn't care about the unspoken rules of the super heroes, she only wanted the truth.

"So this is the reason you've been ditching me and ignoring me?" Leia glared, tossing Batgirl's mask to the ground.

"Well...Not the way I would've gone about it, sis..." Mumbled Sharon, clearly impressed.

"Certainly not, sis..." Nodded Sheryl.

"Will you two shut up?" Snapped Leia before turning her attention back to Caitlyn. "You certainly looked different in that outfit. I wonder why I never noticed before. All those times we could've planned something fun and memorable, you were playing madam miss understood heroine of Gotham City."

"I never told you because I wanted to keep you out of this kind of lifestyle!" Burst out Caitlyn who finally found her voice again as her brown hair fell over her shoulders without the mask to keep it back.

"Whatever." Snorted Leia. "All you ever cared about was glory and being the hero. Didn't you ever stop to think about your friends? What we were feeling while you were off doing Batman's job?"

"All the time! You guys were always on my mind, honestly! I never wanted you to know about this because of what those two are capable of, or unless you forgot... _They killed my parents_!" Caitlyn was still struggling against the pipe that held her wrists back. How she would long to smack some sense in to Leia, her best friend. She wanted Leia to hear what she was saying and know it was the truth. "You think I enjoyed leaving you behind all those times?"

"Well, it makes sense why you're so haughty and proud of yourself these days. You think the world is peachy king when everything's falling apart. You haven't done a single thing but catch a shape shifting bank robber, and put the twin's brother behind bars." Leia shook her head, not impressed by the pleading voice of Caitlyn. "You never once asked about me, how my family was doing since we visited my grandmother. You never wanted to hang out anymore..."

"Because I had no choice!" Caitlyn knew she was starting to sound feeble, but she had been worn out from arguing with her grandmother the night before. If only she'd gotten here sooner.

"You didn't even pursue us last night when there were loads of opportunities to get at these two boneheads to rescue me." Leia waved at Sharon and Sheryl, who frowned at the name calling but said nothing. "You never once tried to tell me the truth... Then I would've understood why you had to stop doing everything you loved."

"_My parents were killed_... you think I would've sat back and let that nutcase of a family continue running the show unchecked and killing at will?" Why didn't Leia get this? Why wasn't she willing to listen? If she could, she'd have smacked Leia upside the head and knocked sense in to her.

"Oh, boo hoo..." Snapped Leia. "Oh, and from now on, I'm Princess Hart of this gang."

"Let me go, and I'll show you what I think of that." Snarled Caitlyn as she gritted her teeth.

"You know what... it might make this more fun and entertaining." Hart raised her right hand, and Caitlyn felt the pipe that held her hands together unravel itself, falling to the floor with a clunk.

Caitlyn grabbed the Batgirl mask, which had been discarded on the floor, and put it over her head again.

"So, is this how our years of friendship ends? We've known each other since we were kids, Leia. I would've told you about this if I saw the sense in doing so. But it would've only gotten you in more trouble than you are. What about your parents, and your sister? Melody was freaking out last night and searching everywhere for you." Batgirl said.

"Yes this is how it ends, Batgirl. At least these two have been honest with me from the start. As for my family, they'll be fine I'm thinking." Hart stepped back. It was amazing the change that came over Caitlyn when she donned the Batgirl mask. Even her voice sounded different. "At least I don't need a mask or voice amplification to live my double life."

"No... you just need face paint, a new identity and that ridiculous get-up you call a villainess outfit." Batgirl pointed at the outfit that Hart was wearing.

Hart was barely flexing her hands as a giant, heavy metal block was being levitated slowly above.

But at the last second, right as it came crashing down, Hart saw the blur of movement as Batgirl had been pushed out of the way.

"You ok?" Asked Batman, looking at Batgirl as he'd just saved her from being flattened by a giant metal block.

"I'm just wondering how most of my friends decided to turn in to nutcase super villains." Batgirl replied as he helped her to her feet.

"I dunno the answer to that one, but I AM glad I got here in time." Replied Batman, turning to face the trio who was watching them.

"More fun for us... girls?" Hart glanced at the orange haired twins, who were suddenly grinning. "Keep Mr. Batsy busy while Batgirl and I have our little fun."

"Fat chance." Retorted Batman who was not standing directly between Batgirl and the idiot brigade. He wasn't about to let Batgirl fight her best friend on her own.

"You don't have to..." Batgirl said in an unusually feeble tone to Batman.

"We're team mates, and this is what team mates do for each other, we look out for one another." Retorted Batman.

Hart wasn't amused by the squabbling. Caitlyn couldn't even get along with the one guy who was trying to look out for her? She raised her hands, and instead of more metal blocks, more than a dozen grenades were lifted in to the air.

"My telekinesis doesn't just affect metal..." She grinned at the wide eyed look from both of them. "I've been spending my free time practicing when you were off playing the heroine, Miss Batsy..."

She sent the grenades at the two of them, and Batman flung an equal amount of Bat-a-rangs at them, causing mini explosions all around before the Dee twins came jumping out at him through the smoke.

More objects came flying at them, from the dusty, dirty stuffed animals, to knives and explosives.

"There's a reason why I hate factories like this..." Mumbled Batgirl as she was dodging the various items being flung at them and more explosions rocked the foundation around them as the twins pulled out one of their favorite weapons, glowing orange whips that they rarely used.

"What I'd like to know is what you two said to convince her to do your bidding." Batman looked at Sharon and Sheryl.

"Have you had a real challenge yet, Batgirl? Or have all your attempts ended in failure because you're still so helpless? I thought your martial arts practices would've helped you out by now." Asked Hart.

"How can you say that when we had been friends for so long?" Retorted Batgirl.

"Real friends don't lie to each other on a daily basis, now do they?"

The Dee Twins were now standing on either side of Hart, who now was raising her hands like she was directing a puppet in a show, with a whip in Sharon's right hand, and a whip in Sheryl's left hand.

"We merely told her about what happened to our Momma, and she chose on her own to take our side on things when she heard what your predecessors and you yourselves are capable of." Sharon finally answered Batman's question.

"So that's the account you gave? The one that would bring more pity in your outdated seeking of vengeance?" Batman looked between them.

"It worked, didn't it? She's our new best friend, and there's nothing you can do about it!" Sheryl replied with a hand on Hart's shoulder.

"Batman... Can you do me a favor?" Batgirl asked.

"What? You mean besides knocking them senseless?"

"Yeah. I need to fight Hart on my own. She was my friend to begin with."

Batman looked back at her, and after a few moments, nodded, finally stepping aside.

"So does that mean we get to have our little fun with Mr. Batsy then?" Grinned Sharon, raising her energy whip as she spoke.

"Gotta keep him from interfering after all, right sis?" Sheryl nodded as Hart summoned in front of her several large boxes full of items this time that were then flung right at Batgirl, who jumped up in to the air before flipping around, sending half a dozen bat-a-rangs at the objects, which exploded in succession as they met with the weapons she used.

"You once said, Leia, that it took a lot to get me truly pissed off... well congratulations, you just won the solid gold medal." Batgirl looked up at Leia, who backed up a couple of steps before once more summoning objects to use as projectiles in their fight. "First my parents are killed and there's nothing I could've done to prevent it... and now it feels like half of my team mates from school are deciding to side with those mad women from the Jokers' family." She stared at Leia unblinkingly.

* * *

><p>At the same time, Sharon and Sheryl were surrounding Batman, who took to the air as their whips came flying at him. He wasn't about to give them the opportunity to barbecue him when he still needed to keep an eye on Batgirl.<p>

"Batman's not paying attention to us, sis..." Said Sheryl when Batman landed on a higher shelf full of boxes of unused items developed by the Joker himself.

"Time for a new lesson on attention spans, I think sis..." Nodded Sharon, and the two aimed their whips not at Batman but at the boxes on either side of him which exploded on impact, destabilizing the shelf they were on and forcing Batman to take to the air again.

But this time he activated his cloaking device as the packing foam and exploding marbles were sent everywhere.

"Hey! No fair, where'd you go?" Asked Sheryl staring around wildly at apparently nothing but debris.

It was a good thing he never thought much of these two, otherwise Batman might have had a hard time fighting a couple of girls who used to be in his school.

* * *

><p>All the while she fought with Hart, Batgirl could feel her own heart breaking as she kept on trying to figure out a way to subdue the girl before she caused any more damage to the ancient building. She briefly wondered where Catwoman and Shape Shifter had disappeared off to, but she didn't want herself distracted at the moment. Especially when one of the largest of the dusty stuffed animals started shooting lasers from its eyes at them.<p>

Finally, Batgirl got tired of being a living target practice and activated the cloaking device on her own suit thus disappearing before Hart's very eyes.

"Hey! No fair cheating!" Shouted Hart, staring wildly around.

"It's called having some brain cells and using them... Who said anything about cheating?" Batgirl's voice came from somewhere near her right.

Hart lunged some explosives in the direction of Batgirl's voice, but they exploded and she didn't see anything or anyone reappear.

"This is just like when we were kids, isn't it?" Asked Batgirl. "Playing hide and go seek, and trying to figure out where we're at..."

"Only this time it's more like high stakes hide and seek, deary..."

Again, objects were flung in the direction Batgirl's voice came from. This time, though, they had the potential to do some damage as gasses of different colors jutted out of the spheres, or knives came out of what looked like four inch thick pieces of metal were flying around randomly.

"Hey! Watch it Princess!" Shouted Sharon as a rogue knife narrowly missed lopping off an inch of her hair.

"Sorry bout that." Hart rolled her eyes before she felt a tapping on her shoulders and spun around on the spot to see nothing.

Next thing she knew, Hart was hit right in the face and flying backwards in to a pile of boxes, then slammed in to the wall as Batgirl reappeared while the objects Hart had been levitating fell to the ground.

"You have NO IDEA how good that felt, Leia." Snarled Batgirl.

"The name is Hart, Batgirl." Mumbled Hart as she shoved the boxes from her.

"Sorry, but you'll always be ickle Leilei-kins to me." Sneered Batgirl.

* * *

><p>When Sharon had been distracted by the rogue weapons, Batman chose to act and kicked her in the legs forcing her to fall backwards.<p>

"Sis!" Sheryl said in alarm before she found herself flying forward from a hit on her back.

"It's no fun playing with the Bats when they cheat like this..." Grumbled Sharon after her sister had landed on her.

Sheryl swung her whip around until it came in contact with Batman's arm and wrapped around it, and Sharon followed suit. Together, the two flung Batman in to a nearby pillar like a rag doll before they released him as he reappeared after the collision.

* * *

><p>Hart had recovered from the blow, and summoned a shelf which she jumped on to, flying herself high up in to the air, almost halfway up to the ceiling as she looked down on Batgirl with a frown on her face.<p>

Batgirl stared up as several bits of debris and explosives were levitating around Hart before flying down right at her. Batgirl flew right up at Hart with the aid of the rocket boosters at the feet of her suit, and dodged most of the items that were thrown at her or punching her way through the bits of debris before hovering several feet above Hart.

"So there's really no way to convince you to listen to sense and reason, Leia?" Asked Batgirl one more time.

"At least, sense and reason from your point of view?" Retorted Hart. "No. I've heard all I need to know what kind of life you're willing to lead."

"Then there's nothing more to say." Sighed Batgirl.

Moments later, Hart's eyes went wide as Batgirl flew right at her, and she sent larger pieces of rubble and debris at Batgirl. But it didn't seem to have an effect on her trajectory, and seconds later Batgirl had her hands grasped around Hart's neck then with a boost from the rockets at her feet, had managed to knock Hart off the platform she'd been levitating on.

* * *

><p>"Princess!" Sharon and Sheryl saw Batgirl forcing Leia off the platform, and the two plummeted to the floor in the distance among piles of boxes and unused stuffed animals and toys with a crash and bang as Hart had been struggling to pry off Batgirl's hands, focussing too much on Batgirl to use her telekinesis to send anything to distract Batgirl's rage.<p>

Hart had fallen unconscious with the impact. Batgirl had to make sure she wouldn't be waking up any time soon, and with drew one of her hands, balling it in to a fist, and had about to hit the girl in the face while still holding her down with her other hand.

"Stop." Batman had reached them, and grabbed hold of Batgirl's wrist before it swung down. "That's enough. She's already out." He pulled Batgirl off of Hart as Sharon and Sheryl jumped over.

The sound of sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Time to go." Said the twins as they grabbed Leia's arms, helping the unconscious young woman to her feet by putting one arm each over their shoulders.

"Come on." Batman pulled Batgirl away from the scene.

Batgirl was silent as they left, and spotted her grandmother's police vehicle on the way to the abandoned factory. She and Batman made it out just in time, but the twins had a heavier load, and barely made it to the entrance when lights were flashed in their faces by the policemen and women, blinding them long enough to be apprehended.

* * *

><p>Batgirl sighed when they reached a safe distance from the factory. She was in shock, there was no other way around the fact of the matter that just went down. She knew Batman was nearby, watching her. But she said nothing, at least for a while.<p>

It wasn't the normal tense, prickly silence between them. Something had changed during that last confrontation with the Jokerz and the prickly feeling was gone. Batman never thought he'd see anyone that angry as she'd been, at least in a long while. But he knew she had every right to be like that. Loosing her best friend to the Dees and their 'cause' was a really low blow to handle.

"Everything ok?" He asked even though he knew it wasn't. But maybe, just maybe, she'd be more willing to talk to him now.

"It will be." She turned to look at him, her voice cracking a little as she spoke. "Why did you stop me?"

"Because you'd already won..." He answered simply. "There was no need to add insult to injury."

"Won..." Batgirl muttered that word. This wasn't how she imagined her first victory under the mask. There was still that feeling of unbearable loss, that there was now a hole in her heart from Leia's unforgivable betrayal.

"Maybe some jail time is what's needed for them to realize their mistakes." Batman looked at the scene in the distance to give Batgirl a chance to gather her thoughts. He watched the police crafts zoom away after apprehending the twins and the unconscious Leia.

"I never thought this job would hit so close to home..." Batgirl admitted, and Batman looked back at her.

"I don't think we ever do when things like this happen." Batman said, in response to that statement. "You sure you're gonna be ok? She was your best friend after all."

"I'm not sure... But it's not like I can linger on this forever, right?"

"Probably best not to. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere if I brooded on my father's murder continuously like that." Nodded Batman.

There was a long silence between them during which Batgirl wondered if Leia would ever see reason and willingly come back, and Batman wondered if Batgirl would be able to recover from this latest rather personal blow from the Jokerz even if she came out victorious from the fight with her former friend.

"I'm sure it'll be ok, though." Batman had a hand on her arm out of concern when she didn't say anything for a long while. "And in the long run, you'll probably be better off." He didn't say clearly better off without what, but she had at least an inkling as to what he was talking about.

Right now she was fighting a swelling of emotions that ranged from rage and anger, to grief and sorrow at the loss of her best friend. How was she supposed to explain this to Melody and the rest of Leia's family? How would she be able to face Melody tomorrow at school?

"If you need help, let me know?" Batman suggested even though she'd turned it down before. He was bracing himself for that answer even now.

"Thanks." She mumbled to his surprise. "What?" She asked upon seeing him blinking at her.

"Well, before you've always been rather... anti-social with me so I wasn't really expecting you to let me help you." Shrugged Batman.

"Why would I say no to the only person remotely close to my own age who knows who I really am, and kept the secret even though I didn't deserve any of his help before because of my behavior?" She said rather bluntly.

"Er..." Batman scratched the back of his head at that statement.

Another silence.

"Shall I see you home then?" He asked just to be polite, and she nodded. If nothing else, to show that she really had accepted his offer of help and friendship after loosing her best friend for years to the Jokerz. She might be temperamental, but she did know that she wasn't stupid enough most of the time not to see a genuine friend when she needed them. And right now, it felt like Batman, also known as Terry McGinnis, was the only real friend close to her own age that she had.

* * *

><p>Dick sat in his chair in the Command Center quietly, his hands folded as he rested his chin in them, and staring at the screens. Somehow the Dee twins had figured out who his granddaughter was, and was using that against her in every way they could now. But at least his wife had put the trio behind bars now. There was just the issue of the obviously exhausted and worn out granddaughter of his. Even though it WAS a victorious fight finally on her end with the troublemakers behind bars, it was a mixed victory.<p>

But perhaps this will also be a mixed blessing, he thought as he took a swig of his evening coffee. Since she'd finally accepted Batman's offers of help and friendship, and being more open with him.

His thoughts were interrupted as Batgirl entered the Command Center on her own apparently Batman having left at the main entrance.

"Caitlyn..." Dick said, standing up at once when the door closed behind her. She took off her mask, and it was clear that she was in misery.

She didn't say anything, but nodded at him before walking up to the stairs that led to the main house.

"Everything will be ok in the end, Caitlyn. You'll see." Dick said, and again she didn't say anything before leaving him alone in the Command Center.

* * *

><p>Terry had changed back in to his civilian clothes, and in the Batcave he saw Bruce sitting in a brooding silence.<p>

"So the Jokerz have graduated from being a simple nuisance to an all out crime group..." Said Bruce, knowing who it was that was entering the Batcave.

"If you want to put it that loosely." Replied Terry, clearly worn out from the day's activities and the fights that went on. "Hard to believe those two idiots managed to convince someone like her friend to join them."

"Not really. They just twisted the tale of what happened to Tim Drake to get pity work in their favor. Just like the Joker did with Harley Quinn all those years ago." Said Bruce harshly. "You going somewhere?"

"Unlike you I've got school tomorrow and I need to at least get SOME form of rest." Said Terry as he stretched, heading back to the exit once he was sure Bruce didn't need anything.

"Whatever happened to Catwoman and Shape Shifter?"

"Dunno. They vanished when things started revving up with the Jokerz kidnapping Batgirl." Terry shrugged.

"You need to keep an eye out for them then, if they're still on the loose." Bruce advised, and Terry nodded, deciding it was probably best not to be smart with the old man. "And keep an eye on Batgirl. Make sure she's handling everything ok."

"I was planning on it." Terry knew that things like what happened that day could have unforeseen effects on people. After making sure Bruce had his heart medicine, he left the Batcave and Wayne Manor for the evening to go and try to get some rest before school the next day. But so much had gone on, that he would be honestly surprised if he got any kind of sleep that night, his head felt like it was buzzing with a nest of wasps as he walked the streets of Gotham City that led the way to his waiting family, something which he was increasingly grateful to have especially after the latest round of confrontation with the Jokerz Clan.

**The story will continue in Batgirl Beyond- Act Three...**


End file.
